The cruelty of her loving hatred
by Bella S James
Summary: Continuation from "Graduation" (4x23). Caroline thought their kiss that night was goodbye... Apparently not. Especially when Silas comes after her and she wakes up in Klaus's car.
1. Obsessive Indifference

Chapter 1:

Obsessive Indifference

"He is your first love... And I intend to be your last..." Klaus stared at her, smiling slightly, regardless of how sick it made him feel, setting Tyler free. "...However long it takes." He nervously leaned forward and kissed her soft, smooth cheek. "Congratulations, Caroline."

_I love you._

Caroline stood there, her breath caught and her eyes threatening to water, with her lips parted.

Klaus tilted his head, frowning slightly. "Caroline?"

"Okay," she began, stopping him from doing anything with two flat palms in front of her. "You know how there are those really, really bitchy high school girls– I mean, they're not always high school girls – but those are, like, the only girls I've ever really been around, so—"

"What are you babbling about, love?" Klaus asked, interrupting her train of thought with a smile, though Klaus basically got the gist of it.

Caroline breathed out nervously. "Okay... Well, you know how there are those girls who mess with guys emotions by saying 'don't read anything into this' right before doing something they actually should read into?'

Klaus lowered his chin, looking slow. "Why are you saying this to me?"

"All I'm saying is..." She sighed. "...Read something into this—" Caroline said, before leaning forward, taking his neck with her hands, and kissing him. Her pale fingers quivered nervously, but still curled into a stronger grip. She squeezed her eyes shut, enduring every millisecond of the kiss, while Klaus's were wide open with shock.

But he got over it.

Klaus closed his eyes and kissed her back, harder, memorising this beautiful sensation – he couldn't help but smile during it.

Then, when the kiss lasted a second too long, she pulled away.

Klaus's eyes opened slowly, his lips remaining parted, and when he looked up she was gone. He looked back down, letting a single tear fall down his narrow cheek.

Caroline, with her shoes in her hand, snuck into the house and closed her front door behind her. She sighed heavily and let her head fall back against the door. "Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Oh, my god..." She grimaced at herself.

"You know, I'm not always okay with you staying out late, but in this case, I was willing to make an exception," said the voice of her proud-gun-owner mother.

Caroline's eyes darted towards her mother, and she stood up straight. "Mom." She blinked nervously. "Hi."

Sherif Forbes raised a brow.

Caroline attempted a smile. "I guess I got a little bored... The drinking scene didn't really suit me."

Liz's eyebrows stitched together. "Since when?"

Caroline stared at her, mimicking her frown. "I'm gonna go to bed." She concluded, walking past her mother into the room that would soon stop being hers. Ugh, graduation.

She shut her bedroom door behind her, then slid down to the floor. She dropped her head into her hands in shame. "Oh. My. God."

"What is it with you high school children?" Caroline gasped and looked up at the person speaking.

"Seriously. All of you have it so easy, and yet you always end up hugging yourself in the corner of your room. Crying."

Caroline frowned. "Stefan?"

He shook his finger. "Wrong." Then he looked down at her narrowly. "Try again."

Caroline's breath caught and she stood up, looking all tough. "Silas," she growled through her teeth.

The Stefan look-alike smiled darkly. "Not just a pretty face, I see..." Silas said, before lunging at her.

She screamed, shielding herself, only to find herself untouched.

"Didn't you hear?" Came yet another familiar voice. "I'm the only villain that can say that."

"Klaus?" Caroline squeaked with panic.

Klaus, holding Silas by the throat against the wall, turned and smiled charmingly at her. "Oh, hello, love." He turned back to Silas, shoving him against the wall, harder this time. "I suggest you leave here, before I—"

"Before you what?" Silas asked calmly, despite the fact that he had an original's grip around his throat. "Kill me?" He laughed. "I would _love_ to see you try." Silas shoved him away.

Klaus rolled his eyes with his jaw clenched. "Believe me, you wouldn't."

Silas laughed darkly. "You Originals... Always so cocky." He raised a brow, still smirking. "You really think you're more powerful than me?" Klaus flinched, but tried to hide his weakness.

Silas took a step closer, towering over him, then laughed through his nose. "So cocky..."

Caroline stared at the two alpha males with concern and fear. If heart heart could still beat, that would be all she'd hear – instead it was her rapid breathing.

"I think you should leave," Klaus said, raising his chin.

"Very well. But I'll be back." Silas turned and headed for the recently opened door with his hands behind his back. "Oh, and if you intend on doing anything reckless, then I will destroy you and everyone you've ever loved." He smiled at Caroline. "There are far worse things to fear than death, my child."

Caroline's spine gave an involuntary shiver.

And Silas was gone.

She couldn't control the whimper escaping her mouth as she stared at the empty door frame. Tears began to well up in her eyes, but she forced them away – she was tougher than that.

Caroline shakily turned around. "Klaus, what—"

That was all Caroline managed to say before everything went black.


	2. Loving Hatred

MY APOLOGIES! That thing at the bottom of the original post of this chapter was not meant to be seen. Ignore it. Cheers.

Jesus, the niceties came quick... Thanks. 

Chapter 2:

Loving Hatred

Caroline's eyes began to flutter open, and she immediately clenched her head. It ached and throbbed with pain like a hangover – which wasn't possible, seeing she didn't get to the drinking part of last night. When she realised this, her eyes opened wide and she whipped her head around.

"Klaus?!" She breathed, still clutching the side of her head in pain.

He turned and smiled at her, his dimples looking more adorable than usual – though not to Caroline.

"Hello, love," he beamed.

Her entire body tensed up, and then she realised where she was.

In a car. With Klaus. Heading god knows where.

"Did you... kidnap me?!" She freaked.

He glanced over at her, before looking back at the open road. "Oh, don't be so dramatic."

"Oh, my god," she breathed, another crease of worry appearing upon her forehead. Her head was still foggy, trying to remember what had happened. "I was... at home..." Klaus nodded along, and her eyes continued darting around the car as she racked her brain. "...And then Stefan—"

"Silas, actually."

Caroline raised her hand in the air, in order for him to shut up. "...He threatened me... and – and then you—" Her scared gaze immediately darkened. "_You._" She growled, turning to glare at him darkly.

Klaus raised a brow, smirking. "Me?"

"What. Did. You. Do?" Caroline continued to glare at him; hoping, praying that his head would suddenly burst into flames.

Klaus didn't say anything – he merely kept driving down an almost empty road with nothing but farms surrounding them.

Caroline's fingers gripped onto the sides of her leather seat. "Klaus?"

He still said nothing.

"Klaus!"

He sighed heavily with irritation. "Very well," he began. "To keep it short; I knocked you out, put you in my car, and am now taking you to a safe location where you won't be torn to shreds by the villain named Silas," he said, pronouncing every word clearly.

"So, basically," Caroline started as she processed what he said groggily. "... you kidnapped me."

"No, I—" Caroline glared at him more darkly. He sighed, "Yes – I kidnapped you."

She scoffed with disgust. "You can't just kidnap people, Klaus!"

He cocked his brow. "Actually, I believe you're proof that I can."

She narrowed her glare. "You're not funny."

"Debatable." He smiled warmly at her, trying to make her feel better.

It didn't work.

Caroline scoffed again. "Did you honestly think I would be okay with you kidnapping me?" He looked away. "Did you think I'd say... 'Sure. You denied me of my basic human rights, like freedom, but that's okay because you have a warm smile and a nice car'? Really, Klaus..? Really?"

His jaw twitched with insecurity, but he forced himself to ignore it. Then he smirked. "Well, you did show a certain... interest... with me, so I presumed there might be a little lenience on my behalf."

She glared at him momentarily, her lips pursed. "Okay, I don't know what 'lenience' means, but—"

"It means—"

"I DON'T CARE!" She yelled, shaking her arms in the air with exasperation. She glowered from the road back to him.

Klaus's brows raised momentarily in an 'woah, okay' kind of way.

She let out a deep breath of frustration. "I kissed you." Klaus's lips quirked into a small smirk at the words – and the memory. Caroline continued, "I didn't declare an eternal devotion to you..." She huffed. "I kissed you. That doesn't mean I like you enough to – _to kidnap_ me!"

He sighed, his lips naturally poised. "Well, I never really have been one for conventional methods."

"Yeah, no kidding," she mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest in her usual stubborn manner.

After a moment of silence with her staring out the window, she glanced back at him unhappily. "Why does Silas even want me dead, anyways?"

Klaus stared ahead at the road, his jaw flexing at the thought of anyone wanting to hurt her. "Because, love, he's a villain. That's what they do."

"You mean what _you_ do."

Klaus raised his chin and stared ahead, trying to hide the hurt in his eyes. "Look, Caroline – I may be a villain, but when it comes to you, there's nothing I wouldn't do to keep you safe." His eyes locked with hers. "No matter what."

She felt another involuntary shiver run down her spine. And after another moment's silence, she spoke again. "Well, I still don't buy it."

He rolled his eyes in irritation. "What don't you buy?"

"Silas may be a villain, but there must still be a reason for him wanting me dead, specifically." She looked over at Klaus, but he didn't saying anything. She narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Klaus?" He still said nothing. She rolled onto her shoulder and stared at him. "Klaus, what aren't you telling me?"

He glanced over at her, pressing his lips firmly together. "You should get some rest – your head's still throbbing. I can hear it."

She shook her head slowly, staring him down. "Klaus..."

He huffed, then glared at her. "I love you, Caroline, but if you do ask anymore questions, I am going to resort to knocking you out again."

She scoffed, turning in her seat to face the open road again, with a disappointed head shake.

_Did he just say 'I love you'?_


	3. Appreciated Irritation

Chapter 3:

Appreciated Irritation

Caroline stared out the window with her head sitting glumly in her hand, looking out at the bright blue sky and flourishing trees. Though every thirty seconds she would give an exaggerative sigh, to Klaus's deep annoyance. It was about 12 in the afternoon, and since he took his time getting her in the car and taking care of things in Mystic Falls, it had only been about two hours on the road, and one hour since he threatened to knock her unconscious again, and apparently she took it seriously... Or maybe it was the nonchalant 'I love you' that shut her up.

Quite frankly, he didn't even notice he'd said it – it just felt so natural for him to say. But for that next hour he continued to run her ignorant reaction through his head.

Caroline sighed loudly again.

Klaus gritted his teeth and glared over at her, warning her to stop.

She sighed again.

"Caroline..."

"What?" She sneered, shooting daggering looks his way.

"Will you please stop that incessant sighing?" He asked, still through gritted teeth as his grip on the steering wheel tightened even more.

"Why, does it bug you?"

Klaus didn't say anything, as the question seemed rhetorical – and he figured she wasn't done.

"No, I understand. It sucks when someone bugs you."

"Caroline."

"I mean, hey, it's no _kidnapping_, but heavy sighing every now and then does have a similar effect."

He laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "My god, you really hold a grudge..."

"Yeah, I'm funny that way," she sneered sarcastically, turning her head to face him. There was another moment of silence, which made Klaus smile, hoping to endure as much of it as possible.

Though the silence didn't last long.

"Where are we even going, anyway?" Caroline asked, slapping her hands against her legs in exasperation. She kept her narrowed gaze on him as she waited for an answer.

"New Orleans."

"New—" Caroline's lips parted in a minor shock. "New Orleans?!" She yelped.

Klaus rolled his eyes in anticipation for her oncoming rant.

"That's, like, a ten hour drive!" She complained, her mouth still hanging open.

"Yes, but you make time fly so much quicker, Caroline," Klaus sniped sarcastically with a bitter, thin lipped smile, which disappeared almost instantly. "Especially with _that_ attitude," he judged.

"Ugh." She squinted up her eyes and scoffed again. Caroline shook her head, confused. "Speaking of flying, why didn't we just take a plane?"

He glanced over at her with an 'are you serious' expression on his face. "Because apparently it's illegal to bring unwilling passengers on the flight with you."

Caroline folded her arms over her chest and smirked bitchily. "Maybe that's there way of telling you, I dunno, not to _kidnap_ people!"

"You have really got to let that go, love!" Klaus snapped, glaring at her with wide, irritated eyes. Caroline sighed again and fell back into her chair, shaking her head. She paused before saying, "I don't even have any clothes to change into – if you haven't noticed; I'm still in my graduation dress!... And I don't even have any shoes on!" She glared over at him, then back at the open road. "Do you have, like, some sorta creepy shoe fetish, or something?"

Klaus rolled his eyes with what seemed like disappointment. "Relax, love – I'll take you shopping when we get there."

She didn't say anything and Klaus smirked. "Though if you truly are _that_ uncomfortable in your dress... You are more than welcome to take it off." Klaus saw blonde ringlets whip around from the corner of his twinkling eye as he continued to smirk.

Caroline glared in shock and disgust, but when she turned to the window and out of his view, she couldn't stop the smile curling on her lips, nor could she stop the charmed blushing.

About an hour of silence later, when they found themselves driving through a small town, Klaus became the annoying one. Caroline's sighing stopped, but she grew irritated because every so often, Klaus would look at her and open his mouth to say something, but never did. It bothered Caroline, not only because it was distracting, but because every time she thought he was about to say something, her breath caught in anticipation. Sometimes, even a shiver ran down her spine.

Though, no matter how much it annoyed Caroline, it annoyed himself more. He just genuinely didn't know what to say. It's not as though you could kidnap someone, then talk about how beautiful the weather was.

Klaus did it again.

Caroline growled, her fingers curling in frustration. "Okay, Klaus," she began, her brows raised high. "Either say something, or stop doing that."

"What can I say, Caroline?" He asked her, his own brow furrowed in frustration with himself.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Caroline replied with a shrug.

"Well, you seem to be the expert on speaking beyond ones natural limits, so go on; have at it," he sniped, waving a hand in the air, keeping his eyes on the empty road. He glanced over at her, the sneered. "Not so easy, is it?"

She raised her chin. "Well _you're_ the one who kidnapped _me_, so I think that makes the ball in your court," she stated while tilting her head in a very dominant way.

He unintentionally mimicked her growl, his grip on the steering wheel becoming tighter to the point where it left dents. Oops. He sighed, thinking of something to say... "So... The weather's quite lovely today, isn't it?"

She laughed mockingly. "Seriously?"

He waved his hands in the air in frustration. "Okay! I give up."

Silence.

"...What's your favourite colour?"

Klaus frowned. "Beg your pardon?"

Caroline shrugged, her arms folded with a blank look upon her face. "What, you wanted conversation," she pointed out.

Klaus was about to mock her some more, but stopped himself. "I suppose—"

"And don't say red!.. Every vampire says red."

"Then, I suppose—"

"So it _was_ red... God, why red? I mean, yeah it's the colour of blood, but, like, really? That's just so predictable..."

Klaus laughed and Caroline looked over at him to find out why. He raised his hands as in defence. "No, continue. It's become apparent to me that you don't actually _need_ another person in order to have a conversation."

Caroline glared at him for a second, then couldn't help but laugh. "Well, yeah. It's because people are so bad at it," she raised her chin and pursed her lips, "they need my expertise."

Klaus continued to grin at her, and Caroline found herself not able to look away from his adorable dimples, until they disappeared.

"Ah," he said, raising his brow, pursing his own lips. "Here we are."

Caroline's head whipped around, her expressive blue eyes darting all over the place to see where they were. "And," she began with caution in her voice, "where is 'here'?"

"Hm?" He glanced over at her, as he pulled his flash car over in front of a dingy looking bar. "Oh, nowhere you'd know," he added with a wry smile.


	4. Careless Jealousy

Chapter 4:

Careless Jealousy

The town that surrounded them was a lot like Mystic Falls – only cheaper, more run down, a little emptier, and _way_ sadder. They were parked in front of a bar which looked like it was hanging together only by the thin, rusted paint job with a huge, crooked sign that said FUBAR.

Klaus smiled one last time, before getting out of the car. Caroline sat and watched as he sped over to her door, opening it for her.

What a gentleman... A psychopathic killing one, but still.

She showed no sign of gratitude or kindness as she got out as well. His fingers tapped on the door's frame as he smiled at her, waiting for her expectant rant. Caroline folded her arms over her chest, staring at him with her chin raised. "I don't have any shoes."

He breathed heavily through his nose, still smiling.

She raised a brow, waiting for a solution.

He shrugged, "Very well," he said, flicking the door closed before beginning to walk away. "You'll go bare foot."

"What?!" Caroline yelped out of shocked. Klaus continued to strut away with arrogance, shoving his hands into his black leather coat. Caroline continued to stare at him in disbelief, waiting for him to turn back and get her – which he didn't. "Ugh, seriously?!" She screeched, before growling and reluctantly walking after him.

Klaus smirked to himself as he felt Caroline's presence. She, with great displeasure, followed him into the dingy, run down bar called FUBAR. Mostly adults in their twenties and thirties inhabited the place and half of them were drunk. The other half were already boozed unconscious. Caroline hugged herself, attempting to cover up her face with ringlets of golden hair. She was very aware and uncomfortable with her lack of shoes.

Klaus walked up the platform and approached the bar. He turned around, leaned against it and sighed with a genuinely warm smile. Then he laughed when he saw Caroline in her obvious discomfort.

She glared at him even more darkly than before.

He feebly covered up his mocking smile with his curled hand. He gestured to her bare, slightly dirty feet. "You've got to admit, though Caroline. It is more comfortable than heels."

She lowered her chin, her eyes now glowering with hatred.

He raised a brow, trying to make her feel better, though the affect was still lost on her.

"What the hell are we even doing here?"

Klaus breathed out dramatically, turing around to face the bar tender.

"Care for a drink?" The last time he asked her this, she said she'd rather die of thirst – he figured her answer wouldn't differ much.

"Please!" She groaned, leaning against the bar, next to him. He looked at her with surprise, but also pleasure. Her gaze darted from the woman serving drinks to him. "What?" She frowned, curious as to why he was staring at her with those endearing dimples and raised brow line.

He breathed heavily again. "What's your poison?"

"Emotionally confused self-doubt," she sighed, only partially joking.

Klaus hesitated, then clicked his tongue. "...And to drink?"

"Oh," she smiled widely, "Whiskey."

He raised a judgemental brow.

She noticed. "What?"

"A little early in the day, don't you think?"

"Seriously?" She frowned at him, then pointed an equally judgemental finger his way. "The mass murderous kidnapper is passing judgement on _me_?" She laughed in that bubbly wonderful way she did. "Seriously?"

He leaned further over the bar table, then whispered in the bar tender's ear, "Isn't she magnificent?" Then grinned.

The woman with intense short black hair and pale skin looked at him with doubt, then shrugged. "Hm. I've seen betta," she said in a strong British accent, much like his own.

Caroline's head whipped around to glare at the bitch who wore way too much makeup. Klaus laughed, making Caroline fix her glare on him.

Klaus kept his smile, glancing over at her. "Caroline, it is my immense pleasure to introduce you to my good friend, and temperamental vampire, Nouvelle."

The black haired vampire's mouth twitched into a momentary smile. "Please, I'm sure."

Caroline, feeling territorial, gave her a bitchy non-smile smile.

Nouvelle leaned her elbow against the table so that her rather fortunately sized cleavage bunched up, and made her face only inches away from Klaus's. "So, my lovelies," Nouvelle began, "What can I do you for?" She added a smirk and looked at Klaus with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. Caroline gritted her teeth.

Klaus's gleeful smile never faltered as he stared at Nouvelle. "Nothing – just passing through, really."

Nouvelle snorted. "Baby, when have you ever just passed through?" She asked, her full, red lips curling into a more seductive smile. Klaus just stared at her, as though both in some sort of trans while Caroline stood and watched them, gritting her teeth.

She succumbed to clearing her throat loudly.

The two of them simultaneously turned their heads.

"Whiskey, was it?" He asked, then turned back to Nouvelle. "Three whiskeys, my darling."

"Three?" Caroline repeated tensely.

Klaus glanced from one gorgeous girl to the other. "Well, I assume the lovely Nouvelle will be joining us," he smiled with a gesture of his hand.

Caroline pursed her lips and folded her arms, failing to hide her irritation.

Nouvelle winked at him, "You bet," she practically purred, before going out back, out of sight.

Caroline gritted her teeth, and finally Klaus noticed her irritation. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing?" She said stiffly.

Klaus stood up straight, staring down at her. "What's the matter? Don't you like Nouvelle?"

She shrugged, and there was a pause while Klaus waited for her to answer.

"No, I've got nothing against Nouvelle, the Vampire Slut."

Klaus tilted his head, his smile having faded. "Caroline..."

"What?" She asked on the verge of a sneer.

"Wait a minute," Klaus started to laugh, "Are you jealous?"

Caroline's arms dropped to her sides; her hands clenching into fists. "Ew, no!"

Klaus could almost feel a pang of hurt in his chest, and Caroline pretended not to notice.

There was an intense moment of silence as Klaus turned to lean against the bar, looking straight ahead instead of at scratched a fingernail against the rustic wood, and he looked down. "Am I really that repulsive to you?"

Caroline's brow formed into a crease, as she stared at him _not_ staring at her.

_Did I just... hurt his feelings?_

Her breath caught, not knowing what to say – she couldn't tell the truth, because she didn't even know what the truth _was_. She couldn't be mean... that could drive him to, like... kill someone.

She opened her mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by Nouvelle's reappearance, with a bottle of old-looking Glenn Mckenna bourbon and three chipped glasses.

She raised it above her head, her shirt raising slightly to see her pierced navel.

"Drink up."


	5. Repulsive Attraction

Chapter 5:

Repulsive Attraction

Caroline sat at the table with her arms folded and a stern look, her foot tapping incessantly out of irritation as she watched Klaus laugh, joke and drink with the Vampire Slut known as Nouvelle. Every time she winked one deeply eyeshadowed eye, or thrusted her minimally covered chest his way, Caroline would involuntarily flinch. She sat there watching her flirt with _her _kidnapper! Not stupid Nouvelle's. That bitch.

"Baby, I'm still trying to remember what happened last time you were 'just passing through'," she said with quotation marks.

_Oh. Cheap red nail polish – what a shock,_ Caroline thought bitterly and sarcastically.

"Ah, yes... The tequila incident," Klaus laughed, looking bashful.

Nouvelle began laughing along with him.

Klaus explained: "In 1886, when tequila first arrived in America, Peachtree City to be exact, we may have taken advantage of it," he said to Caroline, without even looking at her. Instead, he continued to smile charmingly at Nouvelle while Caroline gritted her teeth.

"Great story," Caroline said snidely, with a squinting of her eyes, "But I'm tired and bored and I think we should be hitting the road now, right Klaus?"

It was like she didn't even exist.

"God, please tell you _at least_ remember the _night_ of the tequila," Nouvelle asked with a wink of an eye and a curling of her annoyingly perfect ruby red lips. Klaus didn't saying anything in reply, just stared at Nouvelle. Caroline rolled her eyes, sneering at the two of them in disgust as they shared very... intimate looks.

_If this bitch doesn't stop with the flirting soon, I'll—_

"God, you showed some skill," Nouvelle continued, squeezing her boobs together with her arms.

_Control yourself, Caroline. There's no reason for you to hate her._

"...I mean, I couldn't walk properly for, like weeks!"

_Don't do it, Caroline... Don't do it, Caroline..._

"Hey, can you still do that thing with your tongue—?"

Caroline stormed off before Nouvelle could properly finish that disturbing sentence.

She stood outside; growling, pouting and pacing. She thought of every possible insult to describe Nouvelle – the Vampire Bitch, who wore her clothes way too tight, a ridiculous amount of makeup, and a slutty exchange of glances with Klaus. And what's worse was that she had to sit there, for what seemed like years – when in reality, it was about two hours – and listen to them reminisce about the good ol' days, which _apparently_ the two of them spent mostly shirtless. Or at least, she did.

Caroline turned around to do another round of pacing, only to bump directly into Klaus himself. She braced her self instinctively with her palms, which pressed against his firm chest. Instead of shoving him away, she just stood back, folding her arms and giving him her best 'bitch pose'.

"You know, dramatic exits tend to be more effective when they involve shoes," he joked with mocking eyes and a dimpled smile.

When she didn't say anything, Klaus frowned down at her. "What's got your knickers in a bunch?"

Caroline's lips grew thin, clearly unimpressed. "Nothing," she lied, with a shrug.

He narrowed his dark eyes. "You wanna try that lie again, love?"

Caroline sneered at him. "Well, I guess I was just a little sick of hearing you go on and on with little miss my-cleavage's-too-big-for-a-proper-bra in there," she bitched, her hands flicking all over the place in irritation. Caroline scowled directly at him, leaning closer as she did. "If you wanna jump her bones already, all you gotta do is ask."

Klaus raised a brow as his lips parted to retort on Nouvelle's behalf.

Caroline bobbed her head, "You might have to pay her ten bucks first; quite frankly, I don't think her standards are very high," she added, slapping her hands against her legs angrily.

Klaus itched the back of his ear awkwardly. "I didn't realise meeting an old friend of mine would be such a terrible experience for you."

"An old friend'? _That's_ the euphemism you're using, then?"

Klaus's flicked his wrist in front of him. "Okay, perhaps we have a more... intimate past than friendship, but I didn't think it would be that big a deal for you..." His eyes connected with hers and she could see something in them... Something human.

"Besides, it's not like there's anything to be jealous of," Klaus continued, "I am repulsive, after all," he said bitterly, unable to hide the hurt in his eyes as he stared into Caroline's own.

Her breath caught. _Oh, my god... I'm jealous. That's what this is! Oh, god... _She sighed and stared at him; a brow furrowed with concern.

"Klaus..." She breathed, then stopped herself, not knowing what to say.

Klaus didn't say anything as he gave her time to. And he, being who he was, blinked the emotion away as he waited vulnerably for an explanation that didn't come.

"Very well," he said, "I'll go and uh... say goodbye, then," he mumbled, before walking back into the bar, not able to look her in the eye.

And there was Caroline; standing alone on the dirty sidewalk with a guilty conscience, confused emotions, and no shoes.

Alone.

"Everything work out alright?" Nouvelle asked from behind the bar as she poured some drunken bum another whiskey.

Klaus smirked devilishly, grabbing his coat. "Just as I hoped," he said, bowing with his arms extended arrogantly.

Nouvelle smiled brightly at him as he leaned in over the bar to kiss her gently on the cheek. "Thank you, Nouvelle, my darling," he whispered in her ear, "You worked just as planned."

**Author's Notes**:

Yeah, Klaus is a dick in this chapter – But it needs to be realistic.


	6. Compassionate Cruelty

Chapter 6:

Compassionate Cruelty

Unfortunately, for Caroline, she was back in the car with Klaus. She sat there staring ahead blankly with nothing to say. Klaus didn't say anything, either – he just drove, looking stern-faced and unapproachable. It was awkward to say the least.

Caroline eventually had the courage to talk to him. "Klaus?"

_I'm sorry_, is what she wanted to say. But why? She was the kidnapped one, and it's not like she even really did anything wrong _and_ even if she did hurt his feelings, it's not like he doesn't deserve it.

And yet...

"Yes, Caroline?"

_I'm sorry... No, I'm not. I'm not... Maybe just a part of me is... Damn. _

"Klaus, I'm s—"

The song 'Eternal Fame' erupted from inside Klaus's jacket pocket.

Her brows stitched together. "Is that my phone?"

Klaus rolled his eyes, irritated by the fact that her anticipated apology was interrupted.

"Klaus, give me my phone," she ordered, holding out her hand expectantly. "Klaus!"

Klaus gritted his teeth, before fishing her pink phone from inside his jacket. He stared at the caller ID: _Elena Gilbert_.

Perfect.

Caroline instantly lunged for the phone – as though she was faster than a thousand-year-old hybrid. He held the phone away from her, contemplating answering it.

"Klaus—" She tried to get ahold of the phone, leaning over him. "—Give me the phone!" She attempted to get it again with yet another lunge and failing, having to brace herself with a hand on his leg.

The phone kept ringing.

"Klaus!" She smacked him and he just continued to stare at the phone, before deciding to answer it with an idea as to how to bug Caroline.

He smirked. "You've reached Caroline Forbes's phone—" Caroline whacked his arm for him to stop. "—Unfortunately, she's not able to reach the phone right now, as she is currently in a compromising position," he grinned evilly. Caroline gasped with disgust before smacking the hell out of him. He laughed, blocking her deceitfully strong slaps.

"_Klaus?" _Came Elena's naturally croaky voice. _"What's going on – where's Caroline?"_

Caroline made yet another attempt to get her phone back, before giving up, slumping back into her chair.

"Truthfully, she is being taken to safety – In no compromising position whatsoever, but give it time." Klaus said, still grinning widely.

"_What?! Where are you taking her?" _

Klaus shook his head. "Dearest doppleganger... Always with the questions..."

"_Where is she?" _Elena asked with more force.

"Caroline has decided to join me on a little adventure to New Orleans."

Caroline shook her head at the falseness of that statement.

"_If you so much as touch her—"_

"Actually, I believe it's her that's been touching me, lately," Klaus said with a wide grin, glancing over at Caroline.

She glared at him.

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_

Klaus's head tilted, contemplating what would annoy Caroline the most...

"And to think," Klaus said, "I thought you two were closer than that."

Caroline's head whipped around; her breath caught and her spine tingled. _"_Oh no," she breathed.

"_The two of us are close, Klaus,_" Elena began testily, _"I would die for her – and _kill_ for her. She tells me everything."_

"Really?" Klaus continued, grinning.

Caroline leaned forward with fear and anticipation. "Klaus..." She warned.

He glanced at her with an evil little smile. "Then I suppose she told you about last night when she kissed me?"

Caroline cringed; her fingernails curled so strongly that it tore through the leather seats.

Klaus turned his head so he was staring directly into Caroline's panicking eyes. "And she was marvellous..." He said, dragging out every tortuous word.

Caroline's eyes squeezed shut with shame.

"_No – she would never do that," _Elena said in denial and Caroline's heart ached by the sound of disappointment in her best friend's voice.

Klaus shrugged. "Then I guess you don't know her as well as you thought."

"_Klaus—"_

"Give Stefan my best," he added before hanging up.

Caroline drew out one shaky breath, staring ahead in shock.

Klaus rolled down the window and chucked Caroline's phone out onto the crowded road.

When Caroline's breathing became somewhat normal, and she got over the shock of what just happened, she turned to glare at Klaus, more furious than ever before.

"Pull. Over."

* * *

**Author's Notes. **

**-READ THIS-**

Alright – I'm one for democracy, so let's put it to a vote: who wants the characters of The Originals cast, and who wants the characters of The Vampire Diaries cast?

Every vote counts

(...unless I seriously dislike you... Which is rare... ish...)


	7. Passionate Detachment

Chapter 7:

Passionate Detachment

Klaus did as she said and pulled the car over to the side of the road, prepared for anything she could throw at him – thankfully they had driven far enough for there to be nothing for miles, so it wasn't like she could run anywhere.

Instantly, she got out of the car and slammed the door shut behind her – the window cracked.

Klaus got out and walked over to her side.

"You know, I'm not one for stirring up trouble," he lied, "But I found that rather enjoyable."

Caroline whipped her body around, her fists clenched.

"Okay," she began, "If this was two years ago, I would be handling this a _whole_ lot differently – then again, I probably wouldn't be in this situation, right now, either – but now things have changed. I'm not human, anymore, and the human Caroline Forbes: Miss Mystic Falls – would totally, like, slap the hell out of you right now!" She spat.

Klaus raised an amused brow.

"But I'm not that Caroline Forbes: Miss Mystic Falls, anymore – now I'm Caroline Forbes: Vampire Barbie with a _serious_ temperamental problem. Vampire Barbie doesn't slap – Caroline Forbes does."

Klaus quirked his head, lost in her rambles again. "Hold on, love, I'm lost. Are you going to slap me, or—"

Caroline punched him.

Like... _Really _punched him. Her fist of fury hit him so hard, he was knocked back against his flash Mercedes Benz.

Klaus instantly reached for his nose, grunting in pain. Caroline watched him breathlessly, and strangely satisfied. He pushed himself off the car and began clicking his nose into place, which sounded gross. "So I take it you're upset, then."

"'Upset'? 'Upset'?!" She screeched. "That is a colossal understatement, Klaus!" She looked away, sighing and stared out ahead, looking at the distant sun as it set behind the mountains. Caroline would have smiled at its beauty if she wasn't so furious.

"What gave you the right to tell Elena that?!"

He shrugged, lowering his hands from his bleeding nose after wiping away the blood. "Well, it did happen, love... Can't blame a man for bragging," he said, attempting to charm her.

"Ugh, stop already!" She growled, clawing her tensed up fingers through her hair. "It was one kiss," she stated. "One... I had one temporary moment of weakness and _insanity_, and you just happened to be there for it."

Klaus felt a stinging sensation run through his veins. Ouch.

He stared darkly at her. "So, what, that kiss meant nothing to you."

Caroline stared him down, looking just as dark and scary. "No, Klaus – it _did_ mean something to me." He felt himself begin to smile, until she made it disappear in an instant. "It _did_ mean something, until you once again showed me your true colours." Klaus blinked away the emotion he felt beginning to surface.

"Every time I find myself falling for you, you do something to make me hate you all over again!" Caroline yelled, taking another step closer to him in order to stare at him more intensely.

Klaus's hurt gaze grew even darker, his now black eyes matching his emotions. "You ought to be nicer to me, Caroline."

"Or what?" She sneered. "You'll kill me?"

His breath caught, not able to stop the immense hurt show from within his eyes. "You really think I would do that to you?" She could hear a tremble in his voice that she'd never heard before. "That I would kill _you_, Caroline?"

Caroline's jaw clenched and through gritted teeth she said, "Yes. You would."

Klaus had been alive a thousand years: he had been stabbed, staked, shot, vervained and even strangled at one point or another, and yet nothing had hurt more than when she said that; when he heard how evilly she thought of him. Soulless. Heartless. Murderous.

He leaned down slowly, leveling his dangerously dark eyes with her own. "Fine," he said simply. "I'll take you to safety... And then when I know you're out of harms way, I'll see to it that you're brought home." He paused and through gritted teeth he added, "You'll never have to see me again."

Caroline couldn't breath, blinking away tears of fear, just by the way he was looking at her.

Hatred.

That's what it looked like, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

There was the most intense moment of silence as the two just stared darkly at each other with mixed emotions of anger, hurt and hatred in their eyes.

Klaus continued to stare at her as he opened her door. "Now get in the car."

Caroline shook her head in disbelief. She folded her arms stubbornly. "No."

"Get in the car, Caroline," he said loudly with more demand.

"No."

Klaus's fist curled into a white knuckled ball and smashed the already cracked window to pieces. "Get in the car!" He ordered furiously at the top of his lungs.

Caroline stood her ground as a matter of pride. "No," she said more clearly than before.

The shards of glass stuck in Klaus's skin started falling out as the wounds naturally began to heal.

Their silence was filled with each of their exasperated breaths as the two glared at each other, both baring their teeth.

The fury didn't escape, but nor did the passion.

Instantly Klaus's lips crashed into hers; he took her face in his firm, gripping hands. Caroline kissed him back, yanking him closer by the collar of his coat forcefully. Klaus's fingers entwined with her messy mass of blonde curls.

It was passion. It was the overwhelming mixture of hatred, fury, anger, hurt, pain, love and intensity. But in one word? Passion. That's what it was – plain and simple in its own complicated way.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Hey - still stuck on who else should be involved in this story. Orginals? Or Vampire Diaries? ...Regardless, Elena will rarely, if at all, be involved. Opinions are appreciated.

No Pressure.

By the way, sorry if this chapter was randomly sucky or if it was an annoyingly pathetic attempt at intensity. But I tried, so screw you, anyways.

Thanks for reading!


	8. Awkward Comfortability

Chapter 8:

Awkward Comfortability

Things were originally awkward between them – with a little bit of irritation as well. But _now_? After their deranged kiss. Things were _so much_... worse.

When the two sets of lips broke apart, they got back on the road and continued driving without a single insult, witty comment, or sexual glance.

What was supposed to be one of Klaus's happiest moment – kissing Caroline, yet again – was actually extremely uncomfortable for him. Whereas Caroline, who was already extremely confused to begin with, was now even more confused, which isn't good for someone as neurotic as herself.

Both Caroline and Klaus stared steadily ahead eyes somewhat wide and anxious.

_Say something_, both Klaus and Caroline thought desperately about the other.

Klaus's hands gripped the steering wheel more firmly, continuing to drive down the motorway. What was probably minutes of silence felt like hours as the night darkened and the moon began to rise.

_Dear god, say something,_ Caroline begged of Klaus, regardless of the fact that he could never hear it. Klaus exhaled through his nose loudly and began tapping his thumbs nervously against the wheel.

_I promise never to kill another man again if you would please just say something_, Klaus prayed.

Caroline continued to stare out the at the road ahead with unblinking, wide eyes – _say something, say something, say something! _She screamed inside her head. _You don't even have to say something interesting! Just something, please._

Klaus stared ahead at next turn, then glared. _I've killed people more comfortable than this._

_Okay, _Caroline began thinking to herself, _If he doesn't say something in the next, like, five seconds, I'm gonna jump out of this car. _

Still brutal silence.

_Five..._

_Four..._

_Three..._

_Two..._

_One._

Caroline's hand curled around the handle ..._M'kay maybe not..._ She thought, retracting her hand.

And then Klaus's phone began to vibrate.

The two sighed heavily in relief and then exchanged an uncomfortable glance. That was the first time since the kiss that they actually looked at each other, and they took their time to look away.

Klaus dug his flash phone out of his pocket and answered it. "Elijah... how wonderful to hear from you, brother," he said, only partially sarcastic. Quite frankly, it was nice to be able to talk without fear of saying the wrong thing.

"_Hello, Niklaus," _Elijah responded in that calm way he always spoke. "_Rebekah and I were expecting you here quite some time ago."_ Caroline brushed locks of perfect hair behind her ear in order to hear the two better.

Klaus hesitated, glancing over at Caroline through the corner of his eye. "I ran into some... complications along the way."

"_Is everything alright?" _

"It always is, Elijah." Klaus figured they were done, so he said, "Give little sister my love," and hung up.

And _once again_ there was deafening silence, until Caroline spoke up. "Why didn't you mention me?"

Klaus shrugged, putting his phone back into his coat. "It didn't seem relevant."

Caroline laughed. "Why, is kidnapping girls, like, a regular occurrence for you, or something?"

Klaus grinned, not taking the joke too personally. "No, love." He turned back ahead. "You're just special."

A warmth spread through to Caroline's un-beating heart and she smiled, dropping her head into her hand and staring out the window at all the passing trees. She brought her dainty fingers up to her face and brushed her fingers against her lips, thinking about that kiss.

It sucked that things were awkward, and that the both of them were unbelievably confused about their emotions. It sucked that they'd spent the last hour sitting in silence on what seemed like the longest road trip ever.

But what sucked the most? Was that their kiss was pretty fantastic.


	9. Beautifully Abominable

Chapter 9:

Beautifully Abominable

It wasn't much later when Klaus drove off the motorway into another small town, a little less charming than the last place – actually, a lot less charming. It was disgusting. Only drunken lonely creeps roamed the streets. The streets were deserted even though it only just started to get dark, and the only stores open were liquor related.

Caroline scrunched up her nose in not-so slight disgust. She stared over at Klaus with an exaggerative sarcastic head tilt. "What, you have more slutty vampires up your sleeve?"

Klaus glared up at the ceiling momentarily before looking over at her, parting his lips to retort.

"Seriously, what did you see in that tramp? I thought you said you liked a challenge – like me," she said with a charming little giggle and grin. The beautiful smile upon her face got him to forget her insulting of his six-hundred-year-old friend.

"Actually, love, I'm quite bored from driving, and other activities, so I thought we'd stop at a hotel and make it to New Orleans tomorrow morning," he said, driving more slowly through town in search for a motel or hotel of some kind.

Caroline bit her lip. "Is that really such a good idea?"

"Why not?"

"Because, um," Caroline stopped herself. _Because only an hour ago I had one of the most passionate and terrifying moments of my life, that didn't involve dying, and spending the night in the same hotel suit, let alone the same hotel could lead to some _seriously_ bad decisions_, she thought nervously. _God, even my thoughts are stupid rambles..._

Klaus smirked over at her. "Why, because you think I won't be able to resist?" He looked her up and down, before turning back to the road.

Caroline bobbed her head. "...Well."

Klaus looked over at her. "Well what?"

She looked over at him before spotting a motel from the corner of her eye. "Over there," she said with the pointing of a finger – though it was kind of hard to miss. There was a big neon sign in green that blinked the word 'motel', only the 'm' didn't exactly blink anymore.

Klaus grimaced with distaste at the establishment, then at Caroline. "A motel? Do you really think my standards are _that _lax?" He looked pretentiously appalled.

Caroline laughed at him. "God, you are such a snob."

Klaus reluctantly pulled the car over in front of the dingy looking place, and turned to her.

"Come on," she said, "Come and _slum it _with us common folk. She grinned before getting out – still without shoes, which was inconvenient due to the fact that the ground was dirty and disgusting. Then again, so was the rest of the town...

"'Us common folk'?" Klaus repeated with a confused brow. "Caroline, I've been inside your house, love – I know your bloodline." He got out the other side and leaned his arms against the roof of the car, looking at her. "You're not exactly 'slumming it' yourself."

She placed her hands on her hips and poised her slightly smirking lips in denial. "Well, it's not like I can be compared to the Michaelson's, now can I?"

Klaus pretended to look bashful, bobbing his head. "The Michaelson's are elitists, after all."

"Meaning?" Caroline turned and mimicked Klaus's leaning position on her side of the car so the two were staring at each other.

"Meaning we are an accustomed bunch – the most powerful people deserve only the best," he said rather wrongly with a dimpled smile.

Caroline frowned, but didn't stop a laugh. "Yeah. Whatever," she said before closing her already smashed-to-pieces door. Klaus smiled as he watched her walk away towards the motel; her hips sassily swayed side to side, the wind waving the corners of her dress around in a very seductive and teasing way – it would have been a whole lot more enticing looking if she had been wearing shoes, but whose fault was that?

Caroline looked over her shoulder, and said "Coming?" before walking into the place with the rusty hinged door. Talk about standards.

Klaus momentarily grinned to himself, before rushing to follow her. He let the creaky door slam shut behind him and walked over to the counter where a smily looking old guy was reading a magazine. When he noticed there were two customers in front of him, he bashfully hid the magazine under the desk.

"Hi—" Caroline began, trying to hide the look of disapproval on her face. Klaus stood ahead of him, taking charge in that dominant way he always did. Caroline rolled her eyes and scoffed with a grin.

"We're looking for a room—"

"Uh, two rooms," Caroline corrected.

Klaus looked at her with an 'are you serious' expression of exhaustion. Caroline ignored it, though smiled wryly to herself.

"Yes, two—" He looked at her again, "—rooms, if they're available." Klaus grimaced at what he could see of the motel around him. "...Or the suggestion of a better establishment."

Caroline gritted her teeth, turning to glare at his rudeness. Then she forced a smile at the creepy manager. "He's just kidding," she beamed, but still elbowed him roughly in his side. Klaus muffled a grunt, clapping his hands together behind his back in that dignified way he usually did.

The overly-tanned and wrinkled skinned creepy with greasy hair picked at his teeth then sneered. "Rooms are twenty-five a night – or five dollars an hour, depending on how long she'll take," he said with a shrewdly raised brow towards Caroline, suggesting she was some sort of whore.

Caroline went thin lipped and irritated and she glanced over at Klaus whom she figured would defend her honour, but was instead laughing silently to himself. Caroline forced herself to smile again. "There isn't enough money in the world for me to stoop _that_ low," she said with a bob of the head in Klaus's direction.

He stopped laughing, and Caroline smirked.

The sleaze-ball licked his lips and laughed hoarsely. Caroline scrunched her nose up in disgust as he not-so-subtly stared at her breasts. Then he said, "Well, you're in luck. There happens to be two rooms available."

"Great," Caroline said with a grin, but Klaus remained silent in contemplation.

"No – make it one room."

Caroline looked over at Klaus, confused.

Klaus leaned closer to Caroline's ear. "You're still a flight risk, love." Caroline gritted her teeth. "I can't have you running out on me, now can I? Not when we've already come this far."

Caroline pursed her lips, obviously irritated. "Don't you think that if I were going to have run, I would have done it by now?"

Klaus smiled. "Not if you were as smart as I think you are, and were waiting for the opportune moment."

Caroline went silent in acceptance as he took care of the costs by handing him a hundred dollar bill, and said to keep the change. And as she stood there waiting, she wondered why she hadn't thought to do that. It was clever, and a fair way to escape. Elena and Damon and Stefan were more than capable of taking care of themselves if Klaus threatened them. It was a sure-fire plan that Caroline hadn't even considered.

Why the hell hadn't she considered it?

Klaus was handed the key to their room, after having been informed that the water doesn't run hot in their room, and that any stains on the furniture would cost an extra ten bucks per – which was extremely uncomfortable to hear, let alone think about how that rule came to be.

He flipped the key around his finger, then jerked his head towards the door. "Come on," he said to Caroline and the two left for their room.

Caroline and Klaus stood in front of their red motel door hesitantly. He put the key in the slot and began to unlock it.

"Wait," Caroline said with a grasp of his wrist. He stopped and looked at her with raised eye brows.

"Before we go into a room which'll have us in close quarters, some ground rules need to be make."

Klaus inhaled deeply, said, "Of course," then exhaled. He turned and gave her his full attention, folding his arms in anticipation.

Caroline ignored him. "Okay, first of all, there will be no kissing, sex, or physical connection of _any _kind."

Klaus grinned.

"Secondly, there will be no dirty innuendo's, sexual implications, and _no_ hidden-meaning-behind-everything-you-say thing that you do so well."

He parted his lips to speak, but didn't when Caroline's hand shot up and covered his mouth – which she removed instantly, as it was against her first rule.

"And thirdly, there will be no exchanging glances of specialness of any kind! Which includes looking at me in that other way you do..."

"This is a tad bit constricted, don't you think, love—?"

"—And finally," she interrupted, narrowing her gaze. "The three words 'I love you', cannot be so much as muttered, do you understand me?" Her brows stitched together somewhere between ground rules. When Klaus went to say he understood, she interrupted him again. "And that includes calling me 'love', alright?"

"Now, hang on, that's not fair," Klaus said, standing up straight and raising a halting finger in the air, showing authority. "I say love all the time to everyone – it's a British habit, which cannot be changed."

Caroline stared at him sternly, which was more cute than anything else. "Promise me."

Klaus started to refuse, but stopped himself in defeat. _My god, she's a stubborn little one._ "Very well, I promise, lov—" Caroline glared at him.

"—Sweetheart," he said instead. Klaus smiled his dimply little smile, then opened the door for her.

He heard her growl loudly with irritation, and he looked to see why.

One bed.

She glared darkly at it with fury. Klaus approached her, leaning his full, perfect lips to her ear. "I think that first rule of yours is going to be a little hard to arrange, sweetheart."


	10. Defiant Obedience

Chapter 10:

Defiant Obedience

Caroline stared up at the ceiling, hugging the questionable bed sheets up to her neck in complete discomfort. She drummed her fingers on her chest, then reverted to gripping ahold tightly to the sheet. Her eyes darted from mold patch to mold patch on the roof above her, with a look of concern – not about the mold patch, but about the fact that on the floor next to her, on a completely different level but still at an arm length away, was Klaus.

Caroline turned her head slowly in Klaus's direction – who she was only just able to see.

"Klaus?" She whispered.

"Mm?" He muttered from beneath her. On the floor. With nothing more than a thin sheet and a pillow.

"Klaus, are you awake?"

His eyes opened just for the purpose of rolling them. "I believe my 'Mm' was proof of my somewhat awake state, Caroline." He closed his tired eyes again, and rolled onto his side. Klaus hugged his bare chest and dug his head further against his pillow in discomfort. Quite frankly, he'd been in far worse conditions. Actually, he was _born_ in far worse conditions.

"You're not too cold, are you?"

Klaus's eyes opened again in a glare.

"Caroline, you know perfectly well that vampires don't get cold – and even if I was, I wouldn't have given you my shirt in that case," he added, before closing his eyes again with the intention of sleeping. Huh – how naive.

"Oh, right," Caroline said, as though just remember this. She slid one hand down to rest on her stomach. Her fingers began to curl up balls of fabric with Klaus's v-neck grey shirt which hung right below her ass – luckily. It was clear to them both that wearing a tightly fitted dress to bed was unsuitable for such a dignified girl.

She started drumming her fingers nervously against her stomach, which almost growled with hunger. Unlike some, others were not able to go so long without blood. Caroline started chewing her bottom lip, before sighing and shoving the blanket away from her neck.

"Caroline, would please you stop your fidgeting and heavy breathing and please go to sleep, before I succumb to rendering you unconscious myself?" Klaus asked with an even temper, bordering on aggravated.

Caroline scoffed and she turned on her side to look down at Klaus. "Do you _always_ have to default to threats when you don't get your way?"

"No," he raised and turned his head to look at her, "But it's highly effective." Klaus dropped his head back onto his pillow, some dust flowing into the air grossly.

Caroline smiled down wickedly at Klaus. "So..." She began, "You comfortable down there?"

Klaus opened his eyes again, glaring ahead. He breathed in deeply, clenching his jaw. "No. I'm not, if I'm being perfectly honest."

"Hm. That's too bad," she said sarcastically with wonderfully bitchy smile, before turning onto her back again. Klaus rolled his eyes at her immaturity, before closing his eyes and attempting to go back to sleep.

Klaus rolled onto his other side, still trying to get comfortable. And when he momentarily opened him eyes again, he saw something he really didn't want to see: a rat... Lovely.

"Jesus!" Klaus lunged up and backed up instantly into the corner of the room.

Caroline sat up in alarm. "What is it?!"

"A..." Klaus stopped himself, pinching the arch of his nose. "There is a rat in the room."

Caroline stared blankly at him through the darkness. "...So?"

Klaus slapped his hand against his leg and glared at her with pursed lips. "Would _you_ like to sleep on the floor, instead then?" He asked, gesturing towards the floor. "Go on, have at it," he said, forcing a smile.

Caroline laughed. "I thought you were a gentleman. That's, like, one of the only good things about you." Klaus glared at her.

"And, by the way, you're an a-thousand-year-old original vampire – one of the 'most dangerous creatures alive'," she said with air quotes in a mocking tone, "—And you're afraid of a rat?" She started giggling. "Oh my god, that's embarrassing."

Klaus gave her a fake, almost bitchy, smile. "You are more than welcome to kill the rat, get rid of it, or trade places with me." He paused, then looked at her, all wide eyed. "_Or_ you could move over some."

"No." Caroline said immediately, raising a finger in front of her. "That violates the rules."

Klaus glared at her. "And wearing my shirt? It that supposed to be allowed in your pathetic set of rules."

Caroline narrowed her glare, then looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. She shook her head, but gave an extremely hesitant and reluctant "Fine."

Klaus hid his immense pleasure well, beginning to unbutton his jeans.

"Wow, wow, wow— What are you doing?!" Caroline freaked, covering up his figure with her hand.

Klaus raised a brow. "Would you relax, sweetheart? I'm merely removing my pants – and my boxers will remain in place, I promise you."

"Uh... no?"

Klaus sighed heavily, his pants only pulled down as far as his hips.

"Klaus, no way! That is _totally_ against the rules! That's pushing boundaries we should not be crossing."

"Get over yourself, darling," he snapped through gritted teeth. Caroline was a little taken back. "The floor is disgusting and unhygienic. Therefore, trousers were needed. However, I am a firm believer in trousers remaining outside of a bed." Caroline parted her lips about to reply but he continued speaking. "And it's only fair; you removed your dress, why should I not remove my pants?"

"That's different! I had to remove my dress because it was uncomfortable to wear in bed..." Klaus smiled and raised his brow line and then his argument dawned on her. "Oh," she said before shuffling her body further to the edge of the bed.

Klaus removed his pants fully, revealing his plain black boxers.

"Huh."

"What?" Klaus asked, beginning to crawl under the covers, his body only centimeters away from her own. Actually, their arms were touching slightly.

"Nothing, just..." Caroline started to edge her body further down into the sheets. She smirked. "...A part of was expecting to see silk boxers, or something."

Klaus laughed, letting his head rest upon the arm beneath it. "My god, that would be awfully uncomfortable, wouldn't it?"

She snorted. "How would I know?"

Caroline felt his body shrug, then he grinned. "I suppose a part of me expected you to be the sexy silk underwear type."

Rule number two: no sexual implications.

Caroline blushed as he turned out to be partially right. Then, when she remembered that she originally bought that one pair of silky red underwear for Tyler's benefit, she felt a pang of guilt.

Klaus turned his head slightly to face hers. "Did I say something wrong?"

Caroline turned her own head and looked into his eyes. She made herself smile and shook her head. "No." The two stared into each other's eyes, neither willing or wanting to look away.

Rule number three: no exchanging glances of specialness.

Things remained silent; peaceful; comfortable. It was beautiful – to Klaus and Caroline.

Caroline's eye lids started growing heavy, and she reluctantly closed them. Klaus smiled at her pretty little head, just watching her eyes flutter closed. His eye brows stitched together with contemplation. He slowly leaned forward and softly pressed his lips against her forehead, kissing her gently.

Rule number one: no kissing, sex, or physical connection of any kind.

"I love you, Caroline," he whispered, before letting his head fall tiredly onto the mattress and closing his dark blue eyes to sleep.

Rule number four: the three words 'I love you' cannot be so much as whispered.

Before Klaus fell asleep, he felt Caroline's fingers slowly entwine with his own. It was peaceful, quiet, and completely against the rules. It was a moment of pure happiness and tranquility.

And then the morning came.


	11. Disgusting Charms

Chapter 11:

Disgusting Charms

When Caroline fell asleep, she specifically remembered her hand being in Klaus's. That was it. However, when she awoke, she found her head and hand resting on his bare chest with his arm wrapped around her waist. She unawarely started smiling at the feel of his warm embrace, until she realised who 'he' was. _Oh no – the rules. _

Caroline immediately pushed herself off of him and started slapping the arm that circled her waist. "No, no, no – get. Of. Me." She said with words between every swat of her perfectly manicured hand.  
Klaus jolted up next to her, "Ow – what on earth are you doing that for?" He grunted, rubbing his tired eyes.

Caroline shuffled on her bottom away from Klaus, looking appalled. She pointed an accusatory finger at him. "You broke the rules!"

"What... what rules?" Klaus asked, still half asleep in his mind.

Caroline's hands fell exasperatedly to the mattress. "The rules I laid out for us – duh."

Klaus sighed, dropped his hand away from his tired eyes and glared at her. "Caroline..."

"I set out those rules for a reason, Klaus!"

"Caroline," Klaus said through gritted teeth, grasping her shoulder tightly. "I don't give a damn about your rules."

Caroline glared at him.

"...Okay, forget that," Klaus said regretfully, then let her go. "Look, how about you go on and have a shower and I'll get you some blood... I could hear your stomach growling last night."

Caroline smiled when he looked away, shook her head then said, "Fine," before getting up. Klaus everted his eyes when she accidentally flashed her yellow underwear at when she got out of bed.

She, for some reason unknown to Klaus, tip-toed to the dingy bathroom with an even more disgusting ceiling. Caroline closed the door and he could hear the water begin to run. Klaus pulled on his jeans and classy black leather shoes, then drummed his fingers over his bare chest. He went over and knocked on the bathroom door. "Caroline, love, I'm gonna need my shirt back."

"What?" She called out over the running water.

"You have my shirt!" He repeated, louder this time.

"I can't hear you – I'm in the shower!"

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Really? Is that the purpose of running water?" He asked sarcastically. "Silly me; I thought it was strictly decorative," he added with a glare at her through the door.

"Don't be rude, Klaus!" She shouted through the door.

Klaus slapped his hand against his leg is exasperation. "_That_ she hears."

"Just... Give me a minute."

"Take all the time you need, love." Klaus forced a smile.

Caroline eventually opened the door a small crack and her sopping wet head popped through. Klaus raised a brow. "Shirt, please?" He asked, holding out his hand.

Caroline handed it to him through the small gap, and he went to grab it, but her hand lingered, not wanting to let go of his smooth touch.

"You know," Klaus began, "Sweetheart," he leaned against the door frame and folded his arms. "If you're ever lonely in there, I can always take up that offer of 'hot hybrid-vampire sex'," he said, then smiled broadly.

"Ugh," Caroline scoffed, "You're disgusting," Caroline said, much like the first time that was brought up, then she slammed the door in his face.

"The offer's still on the table, just so you know," he added through the door, but when he heard her body get back into the shower, he looked down at the floor with regret. _Nice one, _he thought to himself sarcastically,_ push her further away, that'll get you far!_

He scoffed with disgust at himself and pulled his shirt over his head, but stopped himself as Caroline's scent wafted up his nose. He brought the collar of his v-neck shirt to his nose and inhaled

more deeply – then stopped himself when he realised what he was doing was beyond creepy. Klaus shook his head and left.

When Klaus arrived back at the motel, he had a sudden fear that she wouldn't be there by the time he got back – because that would be the logical thing for her to do – but he was thankfully wrong. Because there Caroline sat; on the bed, cross-legged, drying her hair with a sodden brown towel, changed back into her graduation dress.

Klaus closed the door behind him, a shopping bag in hand. "Take that off, love."

"What?" Caroline looked shocked and confused, hoping she'd heard him wrong.

"The dress," he said, looking at her innocently, "Take it off."

"What – no!" Caroline sneered. "God, I thought you were better at the whole smooth-talking girls out of their clothes for 'hot hybrid-vampire sex' thing," she said with quotation marks and a deep voice of mockery.

Klaus smiled. "I meant to change into these instead," he said, chucking the shopping bag next to her.

Caroline frowned, still suspicious of his intentions, and looked in the bag where she found a very, very short skirt black and a white designer t-shirt with some fancy pattern on it. She held up the skirt in front of her and him. "Your pickings are a little, um, _revealing_, don't you think?"

He smirked. "Did it ever occur to you that that was intentional?"

Caroline looked disapprovingly at him, but still smiled. She pulled out what was left in the bag and asked, "Where'd you get these?"

"The trunk of my car," he said with yet another shrug.

"What?" Caroline glared at him. "You mean you had a spare change of clothes for me the _entire_ time."

He smiled and bobbed his head pretending to be bashful. "It must've slipped my mind."

Caroline scoffed, but let it go, seeing she figured it was just a way for him to take his shirt off in front of her, even though it _genuinely _slipped his mind – but he wasn't going to tell her that.

Caroline stared at him blankly. "What'd you get me to eat?" She asked with a nice smile.

"Blood bag."

"And what'd you get to eat?"

"The woman who gave me the blood bag."

Caroline's jaw dropped. "Klaus!"

He rolled his eyes and looked at her. "Relax—"

She raised a brow.

"—I fed on her, _didn't_ kill her, and erased her memory." He smiled then snapped his fingers. "Like taking candy from a baby," he said, his smile turning into an arrogant smirk.

Caroline looked at him with a disapproving glare. His lips parted with irritation. "Oh, come on, love! You gotta admit – that's improvement for me."

Caroline scoffed. "Are you saying that I should be _proud_ of the fact that you didn't kill someone one."

He bobbed his head as a slight nod. "Well... Yeah..."

She scoffed again, but with more disgust. "Oh my god!" Caroline pulled out the blood bag and started drinking through the attached catheter.

Klaus folded his arms sternly over his chest. "You do realise you're passing judgement on me for taking blood from an unwilling donor as you drink from a blood bag a willing donor intended for a sick person in dire need of one," he smirked, then jabbed his thumb into his chest. "Technically, I'm doing more good than you are."

Caroline paused mid-drink and parted her lips to say something in protest, but stopped herself when she realised that, in a sick, twisted way... he was right. Caroline glared at him and said "Just be quiet," before hungrily began drinking again with Klaus smirking smugly in the corner.


	12. Vexed Appreciation

Chapter 12:

Vexed Appreciation

Both Caroline and Klaus glared ahead – but for the first time, they weren't glaring because of each other. Thirteen hours of driving together... thirteen... No matter who it was, it is _impossible_ to spend thirteen hours in a car with someone without wanting to gently and lovingly... slice off their head and throw it out the window.

Klaus's tapping of his fingers against the car wheel pissed Caroline off, and Caroline's insistence of sighing heavily every three seconds like a petulant child irked Klaus off to no end.

Just one more hour. That's all it took and they would be in New Orleans with even bigger things to worry about – like how Caroline would get back home and how Klaus would _stop_ Caroline from getting back home.

Caroline stared out the broken window with her head glumly rested in her hand, her other arm rested underneath her elbow. _Oh look, more trees_, She thought sarcastically. Klaus continued driving, though he was driving about thirty miles past the speed limit down yet another motorway.

He started drumming his fingers against the dented steering wheel and Caroline snapped. "Oh my god! Will you stop doing that?" She glared over at him, looking his lean body up and down with a vexed expression.

Klaus continued to stare ahead. "You incessant woman!"

Caroline looked back at him. "Ugh, you're such a jerk, Klaus!"

"Coming from Miss Niceness over here?" He sneered, thrusting his thumb in her direction.

Caroline scoffed. "I was Miss Mystic Falls... That _is_ Miss Niceness!"

Klaus pressed his lips together into a thin line. "Right... _Miss Mystic Falls_..." He mocked, "Is that where you learned to _'aspire, inspire and perspire'_?"

Caroline glared daggers at him. "You had better stop talking this instant or I swear to god I will jump out of this car right now!"

"Go ahead," his mouth twitched into a dark smile, "Jump." He then turned to smile brightly at her. "It would save me the trouble of having to listen to you bitch like a little brat for the rest of the ride," Klaus said through a clenched jaw.

Caroline sighed and looked back out the window. "...It's a good thing I don't believe in god, or I would have pulled a freakin' Charlie's Angels by now..." She mumbled, only partially to herself with a clench of her fists.

Klaus's jaw flexed with irritation... _And _this_ is the girl I love..._

The two of them exchanged an unsettling glance. "God, we _need_ to get out of this car!"

"We'll be there in a matter of minutes..." His eyes went wide, "_Relax_," he said exaggeratively, before rolling his eyes and staring back ahead. Caroline sneered his way and looked out the window.

There was a long moment of silence, before Caroline spoke up. "Hey, why haven't we played any music, yet?" She shrugged. "It might make the silence a little more bearable..."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because, Caroline, sweetheart," he began, looking her way, "Though my little sister is not always right – or at all, usually – I happen to agree with her on the take of modern music."

"Which is...?"

"It sounds like a cable-car accident."

Caroline scoffed and said, "But this is under the assumption that I actually like modern music."

Klaus blinked and he stared blankly at her. "Am I wrong?"

Caroline's lips parted to say something, but she paused. "...No..."

Klaus laughed.

She sneered at him. "Whatever..." She reached for the stereo and started to turn it on to a Taylor Swift song. Then she turned it up... it was loud...

Klaus's jaw flexed with progressing irritation. He turned it off.

Caroline frowned down at the stereo, then at him. "What— you can't do that!"

"Sweetheart, have I ever been mistaken for a tolerant man?"

"No, but people are capable of change."

He frowned at her. "Are you implying the need?"

She lurched her head forward with a furrowed brow. "Duh."

"And for that, you get Billie Holiday," he said with the raise of his chin as he began to fiddle with the radio.

Caroline groaned, thudding her head against the head of her chair like she was a four year old.

_One more hour... one more hour... one more hour... _That was what the two thought to themselves the rest of the ride.


	13. Concluding Commencement

**Author's notes:**

Special thanks to Diamond Desert and her awesome reviews that always make me smile... Oh yeah, and the rest of you are pretty cool, too...

Chapter 13:

Concluding Commencement

"Thank god," Caroline groaned after Klaus had parked the car in front of a flash hotel, having FINALLY arrived in New Orleans.

"No need to be so dramatic," Klaus said negatively as he himself got out of the car.

Caroline looked at him mockingly over her shoulder. "Right," she said sarcastically, "It's not like we were just shoved into the same freakin' car together for fourteen hours... Oh, wait!" Her mouth twitched into a bitchy smile that he usually loved.

_Isn't she stunning? _He thought, only it was more sarcastic this time.

When Caroline practically fell out of the car with relief, she tugged at the unbelievably short skirt Klaus gave her and wriggled her toes – still without the comfort of shoes. Klaus got out of the car as well and popped open the trunk, which made the sleek whooshing sound. He pulled about six different shopping bags – mostly from Barney's, Bergdorf's and Bloomingdale's. Caroline nodded towards the bags. "Whose are those?" She asked, taking ahold of a few of them.

Klaus kept walking towards the hotel with the doorman. It was _that_ kind of hotel. He looked at her then gestured toward the doors. "You'll see for yourself, soon enough," he said with a tinge of nervousness, which Caroline picked up on. Curious, and without much of a say anyways, she followed him, subconsciously tugged at her skirt as she did.

"Hello, Mr Michaelson," the kind doorman greeted with a charming tip of his green uniformed hat. "Good to see you, Nigel," Klaus said with a momentary smile. Nigel smiled kindly at Caroline without so much as a glance at her bare feet, which Caroline liked, and then opened the door for them. When Caroline entered the hotel with Klaus right in front of her, her mouth gaped open in shock. "Wow!" She breathed as she looked around at the open spaced entrance of luxury. The mother of all chandeliers hung above them from the beautifully tiled ceiling that was ridiculously high. A fair amount of people surrounded them, all of a classy looking nature. Caroline stared at the old fashioned furniture all around the place and at the oak wood check-out desk at the opposite end of the room.

Klaus stared at her staring. "People are staring at your staring, love," he said gently in her ear. Caroline blushed and shut her mouth instantly and looked at him.

He nodded towards the massive, almost intimidating, spiral staircase and said, "Come on."

"Wait," she looked over at the unbelievably gorgeous check-in lady at the front desk. "Don't we need to, like, check in...?

Klaus laughed shortly, "Don't be ridiculous." He walked towards the stairs with the sound of his leather shoes clicking against the marble tiled floor. "Come on," he said again.

Caroline subconsciously started gaping again at her gorgeous, classy surroundings.

Klaus got to the third step, then stopped in wait for Caroline. "Caroline?"

"Look at the ceiling!" She breathed in awe.

Klaus frowned at her, confused. He nodded slowly. "Yes... It's very nice..."

"Have you seen this ceiling?!"

"Yes, love, I have..."

When she continued to stand still and gape Klaus sighed, took her by the hand and guided her up the stairs.

After they made it up eleven flights of stairs and began to walk down the hall, Caroline watched Klaus stare blankly ahead in that way he did when he was nervous. Caroline frowned at herself, thinking, _how did I know that? _She shook her head, then asked, "So... are you, like, living here, or is this just another place you threatened your way into?" She said with a smile.

Klaus's mouth twitched into a smile. "Actually, I'm not the one living here."

"Then who is?"

Klaus smiled. "My dearest big brother," he said, then opened the door to the most beautiful hotel room Caroline had ever seen.

"What is the white trash doing in my clothes?"

"...And Rebekah," he added with the slightest sense of shame in his tone. Caroline immediately did her best bitch pose, which Rebekah mimicked – and Klaus gently pushed her into the room with his hand against the small of her back. Rebekah, with her ass popped out and a perfectly manicured hand laid upon it, repeated herself with a sour glare at Caroline. "Why is that trashy bitch wearing my clothes?"

Caroline turned to look at Klaus quizzically. "Yeah, why am I wearing that trashy bitch's equally trashy clothes?" She retorted rather proudly and Rebekah scowled at her the best she could, still trying to look like a lady.

Klaus parted his lips to say something, but stopped himself, and closed them again, but the two proud, slightly bratty, blondes stared at him, waiting for him to respond. He took a deep breath nervously, glancing back and forth between the two. "No matter what I say, I will be pissing one of you off, so I won't say anything at all." The two glared at him, then he bobbed his head and added, "...And to be perfectly honest, you both scare me just the same..."

So there they were. Caroline glaring bitchily at Rebekah; Rebekah glaring bitchily and Caroline. And Klaus; standing uncomfortably between the two women he loved most in the world.


	14. Unfaithful Loyalty

Chapter 14:

Unfaithful Loyalty

"Rebekah, love, where's Elijah?" Klaus asked as a way to change the subject. Rebekah took her time to answer as she continued to glare at Caroline. "I'm not really one to keep up with my brother's daily schedule, Nik."

He frowned and his head quirked to the side. "And yet you constantly expect us to keep up with yours..."

Rebekah raised her chin and got all thin lipped with irritation. Caroline smirked with pleasure, her eyes locked darkly on Rebekah's poised figure. Rebekah made a dismissal waver with her hand. "Elijah should be back soon – I think he's dealing with business of some sort." There was a pause until Rebekah spoke again. "But back to the issue at hand; what is that bitch doing wearing my clothes?"

Caroline scowled at her and Klaus shrugged and clapped his hands together behind his back. "Call me old fashioned, but when I kidnap a lady, I like to pleasure them with basic luxuries like a change of clothes."

Rebekah's mouth twitched into a snide smile. "Though apparently she's not worth the trouble of buying new clothes." Caroline gritted her teeth, going through every witty retort possible in her mind. "Well, you're hardly wearing clothes most of the time anyways, Rebekah, so what should it matter if I borrow something..." Rebekah raised her chin higher to the point where she was literally looking down at her.

"Now, now, play nice," Klaus said as he walked between the two towards the sitting area, though not before planting a brotherly kiss on Rebekah's cheek. Caroline took a moment to appreciate the gorgeousness of the place; it was perfect – a chandelier hanging from the extremely high ceiling and the wallpaper of golden and yellow colours with classical patterns all over them. It was very old fashioned... Caroline noticed another spiral staircase at the opposite end of the room which she assumed lead to the thousand other rooms for them – or maybe just Rebekah.

Rebekah turned oh her heels and strutted over to Klaus who was pouring himself a drink of scotch by the mini bar. He raised it high so it was gone within seconds. He then poured himself another.

Rebekah gave him a judgemental look. "Slow down, Nik – the alcohol was intended for people I like," she sneered, doing that over-pronunciation thing in the same way her brother did.

Klaus forced a smile. "Well, love, when I am put in a situation that involves the two of you, one must drown oneself in alcohol to—" He glanced uncomfortably at her. "—Survive..." He said, concluding with a wide smile and a gulp of more scotch.

"It's good to see you too, brother," she said sarcastically, then turned and looked back and Caroline who stood proudly with her arms folded over her chest.

When Klaus stood back next to Caroline, she leaned closer and asked what they were doing there. He breathed in deeply again. "Honestly, I thought Elijah would be here."

Caroline raised her brow and said in a high-toned voice, "You mean you didn't come here to say 'hello' to the most shallow bitch alive?" She smirked in Rebekah's direction. "Why, I'm shocked," she added ever so sarcastically.

Rebekah ignored her last comment and pointed a rude finger her way. "I'm still confused, why is she here, Nik?"

The two girls turned his way and Klaus clicked his tongue, staring blankly ahead instead at the two of them. "I am protecting her from Silas."

"Silas?"

Klaus stared at her. "Yes."

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I thought we were done with that particular villain of the story."

"Oh, _we _are," Klaus said, gesturing to Rebekah and himself, "_She_ isn't," he finished, gesturing to Caroline who smiled brightly just to piss Rebekah off.

Rebekah smiled back. "Well, just as long as her visit is short and out of my way."

"Oh, I wouldn't count on it," Caroline said with another bitchy smile. Klaus raised a brow and looked at her, who did not look back as she was too busy having a pissing contest with his beloved sister. It was nice for him to hear Caroline say she was wanting to stay... though it would have been nicer if it wasn't solely for the purpose of pissing off his little sister.

"And why are you here, brother?" Rebekah asked.

Klaus looked up from the floor, his train of thought being interrupted. "To see my lovely little sister," he said with a charming dimply grin as he took a step closer to her and placed a hand on her arm. Rebekah practically yanked her arm away. "Don't lie to me, Nik, and tell me why you're really here."

Klaus sighed. "Very well," he said, "I was actually looking for a different, less pleasant, sibling of ours."

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Well I don't think Elijah will be exactly happy to see you."

Klaus smirked to himself and quietly laughed.

Rebekah frowned at him. "What?"

Klaus's smirk remained and he raised an amused brow. "Oh, it will all make sense, eventually."

Rebekah stared at him suspiciously, as did Caroline from behind him. _Oh god, what are you up to, Klaus, _Caroline thought with a mixture of irritation and dread.

After a long moment of irritation for Rebekah, unexplained smugness for Klaus, and boredom for Caroline, she spoke up. "Okay, if the guy you came here to see isn't here for you to, like, see, then shouldn't we leave?" Caroline asked Klaus. Rebekah gave her a shrewd smirk, then quirked her head as she looked Klaus's way. "Well, it's clear you don't like her for her brains..." Caroline scoffed. "...Or lack thereof," she added, infuriating Caroline.

She glared over at Klaus. "Okay, can we go, now?"

Klaus took at deep breath nervously, itching behind his ear. "Sure, love, but... You see, the thing, love, that there's no place to actually go seeing this is where we're staying."

Caroline snorted, then stared at him. "Maybe you are, but there is _no way _in_ hell_ I am staying here."

Klaus gave her a 'do you really think you can defy me?' smirk.

"Yeah, Nik, I'm with her," Rebekah interrupted. "There's _no way _in_ hell_ she is staying here... let alone you."

Klaus rolled his eyes before turning to look back at Rebekah. "Oh, come come, love – you can't be mad at me forever."

"Perhaps not – but a century or two may teach you some manners," she said with her nose high up in the air.

"Just... out of curiosity," he began, clapping his hands together behind his back, "What indiscretion are you hating me for, this time?"

Rebekah glared at him with shock. "The cure, Nik!"

"Ah."

"I wanted it, and you went out of your way to make sure I didn't get it!"

"That's because I didn't want to support yet another pathetic whim of yours at the expense of my safety, sweetheart," he justified.

"This should be fun," Caroline muttered to herself, leaning against the wall comfortably with an amused smile across her face.

"You've made your feelings perfectly clear!" She folded her arms over her chest and continued to glare at her big brother. "I want an apology."

Klaus sighed. "Fine. I am sorry for not being more understanding of your pathetic whims."

Rebekah narrowed her glare while Caroline sneered at the back of Klaus's head from a distance at his stupidity. "You are _not_ forgiven."

"Seriously?" Caroline scoffed. "Klaus, come on! You can't be _that_ incapable of apologising."

Klaus glared at her over his shoulder while Rebekah's lips twitched into a smirk... it was as though the girls had a mutual understanding... funny that...

"Fine," he said with a deep breath, turning to look back at his smug little sister. "I am sorry for thinking about my own benefits— Nope, I can't." He laughed. "I'm sorry, love, but I am not sorry. I still concur that I was in the right." Rebekah began to speak until Klaus raised a hand and added, "But I am sorry for the whole... you know, neck snapping thing..."

Caroline stood up straight. "I'm sorry... What 'neck snapping' thing...?"

_Oh, Christ,_ Klaus thought regretfully.

Rebekah raised a smug brow. "Oh, didn't he tell you?"

"Rebekah..." He warned, or begged, depending on how you heard it.

"My beloved brother over here – who I have loved, regardless of how badly he's treated me over the centuries – snapped my neck after he took me for granted."

"That's what big brothers do, sweetheart!" He said again, much like he did the last time he and Rebekah talked.

Caroline's jaw dropped. "You snapped your own sister's neck?"

"Oh, don't look so surprised," Klaus said to her with another rolling of the eyes. "I came close to snapping your own neck only two days ago." He turned back to Rebekah.

"Wait," Rebekah started, her hand raised in a halt, "You knocked her out?"

Both Klaus and Caroline frowned at her as to say 'duh'.

Rebekah snorted in derision. "What happened to your eternal devotion to never letting anything happen to her?" She mocked.

Caroline looked over at Klaus with a glare. "Yeah, what the hell?"

Klaus hesitated. "...I preferred it better when you were attacking each other."

Thankfully, Klaus's saviour came, dressed formally in a nice suit and tie – the lovely, though annoying moral, Elijah... The better of the Michaelson siblings.


	15. Lionhearted Fear

Chapter 15:

Lionhearted Fear

"We have a problem," Elena said with what seemed like a permanently furrowed brow upon her face. She stared with – what a shock – concern at Matt and Damon, who both stood across from her in the Salvatore Boarding House living room. Damon leaned against the couch casually with his arms folded over his black shirted chest, looking smugger than usual.

"Really? Why, I'm shocked," he said sarcastically with a grin.

Matt actually agreed with him, looking at Elena with tortured baby blue eyes. "This is Mystic Falls. When do we never have a problem?"

Elena continued to look worried. How unusual for her. "No, but this one involves Caroline, this time. And Klaus."

Damon rolled his eyes and groaned loudly. "Ugh, I thought we were done with _that _particular villain." Both Matt and Elena ignored him.

"Damon, please..." she said raising her flat palm for him to stop talking.

"Well, what's going on?" Matt asked. Elena hesitated as she studied him, and how he looked more sad than usual.

Elena sighed with sadness. "Klaus answered the phone when I called Caroline,"

"And what did he say?" Matt asked with a little more angst. Damon stood up straight, but Elena couldn't tell if he was faking concern for her benefit or not. She stopped eyeing his gorgeousness and looked over at Matt who was hanging off her every word.

"He mentioned he was going to New Orleans?"

"Why New Orleans?" Matt asked.

Damon shook his head, already knowing the answer. "Because from the little I've found out about Klaus, I know that he has some sort of emotional connection to New Orleans."

"How'd you find that out?"

Damon smirked. "I have my ways," he said with a wink at Elena. She blushed over her new drooling love for him, before focusing on Matt, who she was currently using as a de-rection.

Matt noticed and tried to change the subject back to his old love's life in danger. "So let's go! We need to save her!"

"But Matt..."

"No, Elena! I get that you have some sort of new pre-summer love thing going on right now, but this is Caroline!" He snapped, squinting his eyes with distaste. This wasn't the first time he snapped at Elena and her ways, but it was usually because something else bad was going on in his life.

"Yes, and we all love Caroline, but we need to be smart about this..." She said, stepping closer to him and placing a gentle hand on his arm to consul him.

"Actually, you guys love Vampire Barbie a lot, I just... like her a lot," Damon joked with another wry smile.

Matt shook his head and yanked his muscly arm away from Elena. "No!" He protested. "Look, I don't care what you guys do, but I'm going to New Orleans to get my friend back!" Matt started to storm off towards the door, disgusted with their calm attitudes. _It's Caroline_, Matt thought.

Next thing he knew, Damon was instantly standing in his way (using is Vamp speed thing) staring down at him looking naturally like the alpha. "And how do you expect to do that, Rambo?" He mocked. "Caroline is under the evil original hybrid's control. And you're a weak little human. What do you think _you _can do?"

Matt looked at him darkly, taking a step closer to him, showing absolutely no fear. "Whatever it takes." He then walked around Damon and began to walk through the already open front door. "And that'll sure as hell be more than what you two are doing," he muttered with disappointment, but not with surprise, making Elena feel like she was being talked down to like he was her father.

Matt got in his truck, which mimicked his sexy masculinity, and put it in reverse. But Elena was already at his window. Matt looked straight ahead, but stopped the car. "What?" He muttered.

"Matt," Elena breathed, her voice dripping with emotion and caring. Bleh. "Please... Don't do anything without thinking. _Please,_" she begged, still all breathy and pathetic.

"You know," Matt said just above a mumble as he looked down at her. "If you really cared about your loved ones as much as you say – you'd be the one in this car, right now." He put the car back into reverse. "Not me," was all he said, then drove away, not willing himself to look into Elena's caring eyes.


	16. Peaceful Warzone

Chapter 16:

Peaceful Warzone

"Elijah!" Klaus rejoiced, walking over to his stuck-up brother with open arms. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad you're here, brother." Klaus clapped his hands against Elijah's arms, which remained firmly by his sides. Elijah gently removed Klaus's hands from his body and looked at him sternly and calmly. "Hello, Niklaus."

Elijah walked past him to stand in between them all, then turned around to look at Klaus who remained close to the door and to Caroline. "Though I was expecting you, I must say I wasn't expecting you to be accompanied by the lovely Miss Forbes," Elijah said calmly with a smile like the gentleman that he was. Caroline grinned at the pleasure of hearing herself being called 'Miss Forbes'.

Klaus flashed a smile, glancing between siblings and Caroline_._ If he had a heart, it would be beating extremely fast right now.

"If I may ask..." Elijah began, putting his hands into the pockets of his black pants before flattening out his jacket. "Why is she here, Niklaus?"

"Oh, Nik kidnapped her," Rebekah answered with an evil grin before he could, resulting with Klaus glaring at her with a locked jaw.

Elijah's expression didn't change as he looked back from Rebekah to Klaus. "Ah. Up to your old tricks, I see."

Caroline raised a brow. "'Old tricks'?" She looked over at Klaus, but couldn't see more than his ear as he stood still and glared ahead at Elijah. "You've kidnapped people before?"

"You're surprised?" Rebekah snorted.

Elijah behind him at Rebekah. "Your childish remarks are not necessary, Rebekah," Elijah said, remaining as calm as always. Klaus smirked at the stirring Rebekah, while Caroline saw them for the maddening dysfunctional family that they were – though she did begin to feel better about her relationship with her mother.

Elijah frowned down at Caroline's dirty bare feet. "Why is the lady without shoes, Niklaus?"

"Hm?" He looked over at her feet. "Oh, yes – captive technique. No shoes, no escape."

Elijah nodded understandingly. "I see..." Caroline rolled her eyes, but grinned when Elijah continued. "Though I think you're underestimating the capabilities of this young lady." Elijah's calm brown eyes glanced over at her. "You'd be surprised how long a woman can go without shoes."

"It's almost as if her lack of shoes wasn't stopping her from escaping," Rebekah chimed in. "Almost as if she didn't want to," she said with a smug smile which is when Caroline couldn't bring herself to look Klaus in the eye, who was now looking directly at her.

Elijah flicked some dust off his jacket sleeve and said, "I understand your motives, Niklaus, though I do believe the lovely lady has more or less shown her reluctance to leave and should have the basic luxuries like shoes."

Klaus sighed. "Very well – Rebekah, love, would you mind if she borrowed a pair of yours?"

To everyone's surprise, Rebekah sighed and said, "There should be a pair of pumps in the Bloomingdale's bag."

"That's very gracious of you, Rebekah," Elijah said, walking over to the bag by the floor and fishing them out. He walked over and handed them to Caroline as she watched with admiration for his kind, gentlemanly nature. 'Thanks' was all Caroline said before greedily pulling them onto her dirty feet, resisting the temptation to groan with pleasure.

Caroline glanced over at Klaus who had mixed emotions of sorriness and jealousy and Caroline chose to overlook the fact that there were shoes in the car all along.

"Now," Elijah began, changing the subject, "As lovely it is to see you again, Caroline, Niklaus and I have some important matters to discuss."

Klaus looked his brother in the eye before the two began to walk into the adjoining room, which Caroline assumed was either a second lounge or a study. She smiled at Elijah and then returned to glaring narrowly at Rebekah as the two Michaelson's left the room. Before Klaus closed the two tall doors, Rebekah asked, "Do you really trust me to not _kill_ your little girlfriend, brother?"

Klaus glared darkly at her, his blue eyes were almost black. "If you do, there's a dagger waiting for you."

Rebekah rolled her eyes trying to look unfazed, but he could see a flicker of fear in her grey-blue eyes before shutting the red and gold doors.

Caroline brushed golden locks of hair behind her ear to hear better. Rebekah rolled her eyes, sneering at Caroline. "If you think you're going to eve's drop on them, then you're as stupid as I think you are."

Caroline scoffed and shook her head, refusing to engage in another bitch pissing contest.

Rebekah pointed to the doors and said, "Klaus isn't the only original fond of witches."

"Oh." Caroline sighed and began walking around the room, leaving the bags by the door. She trailed a finger across the back of the red patterned couch as she walked while Rebekah locked her eyes on her.

There was a silence until Rebekah decided to open her mouth again and cause trouble. "Not that it's any of my business, but why are you still here?" She bobbed her head, contemplating the answer to her own question. "I mean you and your little friends have a history of getting out of situations just like this, almost completely unscathed... I'm sure you've had plenty of opportunities to escape... So why are you still here?"

Caroline's breath caught. "You're right – it's none of your business," she said with a bitchy smile. Rebekah returned the same smile before walking over to pick up the bags full of her clothes; the sound of her black heels clicking against the wooden planked floor filled the silence.

"And though it's none of my business," Caroline said, sitting against the back of the red couch to look at her. "Aren't you supposed to be back in Mystic Falls, drooling over Matt?"

Caroline noticed Rebekah flinch. "If I am not allowed to pry into your personal life, then you're not allowed to pry into mine."

"Ooh," Caroline folded her arms over her chest, getting more comfortable. "That sounds bad."

"Not bad, just.." Rebekah stopped herself and turned to stare darkly at Caroline. "Forget it."

The two remained there in silence glaring at each other. Caroline began picking at her nails before contemplating the situation. "Look, I know it's still not my place or whatever, but I do know what it's like to be in a relationship with Matt, so—"

Caroline was cut off by the sound of the red doors opening and slamming against the the walls, leaving dents where the doorhandles were. Both Caroline and Rebekah's blonde heads whipped around to see Klaus in his black leather shoes storm against the wooden planked floors in an outrage. She stood up in anticipation. "Caroline," Klaus growled, "We're going."

Caroline's eyes darted between Klaus and Elijah, who remained standing in the room – but he didn't look calm.

"Wait – what's going on?" Caroline asked, not moving form where she was.

Klaus had already made it to the door but turned on his heels, walked over to Caroline, took her by the hand rather sweetly and stormed out of the hotel room.

**Author's Notes:**

Okay, this was kind of a shotty chapter, but just try to overlook it and concentrate on the better chapters and... puppies... and whatever else makes you pretend this was a good chapter. Ooh! Elijah... pretty, huh? Focus on that.


	17. Burned Frozen

Chapter 17:

Burned Frozen

"Slow down, Klaus!"

"Slow down, you die, Caroline."

"Is that, like, a threat?"

Klaus rolled his eyes. "No, it's a saying, love... Slowing down isn't living, therefore it's dying."

"Well, it's a good thing I _can't_ die, then!"

When Klaus had reached the outside of the hotel, he stopped, turned around and faced Caroline, his hand still grasping hers. Caroline stared at him with genuine concern. "Klaus, what happened?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but Caroline kept going. "I mean, it's like one minute you're all weird and nervous, and the next you're all, like, angry and _really_ PMS-y like – well, like me... So, like, seriously, what the hell?"

Klaus momentarily glared at her and her description of his attitude. "It's nothing that concerns you, Caroline."

Caroline shifted from foot to foot and shrugged. "That's not why I asked..."

Klaus stared at her in silence with pursed lips and a locked jaw while Caroline stared at him with an offended expression. She glanced down at her hand as her fingers slowly began to entwine with his.

"Are you okay?" She asked, still seeming genuine as she looked into his cold blue eyes. Klaus couldn't help but stare at her sceptically; like there was some ulterior motive to her kindness even though he wanted so badly to believe otherwise.

Klaus sighed and forced a smile. "I'm an original hybrid incapable of being killed," he lowered his gaze, "Of course I'm okay."

Caroline gave him a halfhearted smile. "Just because you're indestructible doesn't mean that you're okay, Klaus."

Klaus's jaw lurched further forward which he does whenever he feels the need to hide his emotions. He raised his eyebrows and lowered his chin and smiled at her. "I am fine, Caroline."

Caroline stared at him narrowly. "You're lying..."

Klaus's jaw clenched and his blue eyes became black with coldness. Caroline's fingers twitched as they continued to slowing entwine with Klaus's.

"Very well – I'm not fine." He leaned closer and his voice dropped to one level above a whisper. "I am _far_ from fine. Elijah has continued to be his... irksome... moral self."

Caroline snorted in disagreement. "He's not irksome."

"He's irksome," Klaus repeated with a nod.

"He's charming," Caroline corrected with a grin.

"He's a snob," Klaus growled.

"He's moral... and a gentleman."

"_And _a major pain in the ass," Klaus said with a quirk of his head and poising of his thick shapely lips.

Caroline raised a brow. "I guess it runs in the family, then," she teased, still with her charming grin.

Klaus tried to keep the glare on his face, but couldn't. He couldn't resist the urge to laugh.

"So am I allowed to know what it was that Elijah did that pissed you off so much?" Caroline asked.

Klaus clicked his tongue in contemplation. "No."

She raised a brow. "No?"

He smirked. "Now, love if I told you every mystery, then where would the mystery go?"

Caroline frowned. "Far away – where it belongs."

Klaus mimicked her frown. "What are you talking about? Part of my appeal is mystery. Tall, dark and mysterious – isn't that what they say?" Klaus's thumb rubbed gently against Caroline's own in small circles.

Caroline leaned in closer and whispered in her sexiest voice that made Klaus tingle, "You're not that tall."

Klaus shrugged with a wry smile still curled onto his lips. "All the more reason to stay mysterious."

Caroline bobbed her head. "Okay." Klaus raised a sceptical brow. "Don't tell me," she added, then pointed a finger at him with her free hand. "But just so you know; one of the perks of having a hostage is that you can confide in them." She smiled sweetly. "You can trust me."

Klaus stared at her and slowly began to smile. Right then and there, he found himself believing her, falling for her, wanting her... But a thousand years of life experience had taught him a thing or two about pretty girls with charming smiles and a dubious past. He grinned and shook his head. "No, I can't."

Caroline's smile disappeared, though Klaus didn't know if it was because she was offended or if it was because her possible plan of using his trusting of her against him failed – and, quite frankly, nor did Caroline.

Klaus pursed his lips momentarily. "I can't trust you, Caroline – I can't trust anyone." He blinked one too many times. "...Apparently not even my own brother..." He muttered, mainly to himself, as he looked up at the hotel where Elijah currently was.

Caroline still had her hand in his. She then grabbed it with both of her own and gently squeezed. She extended her neck to look into his glazed eyes. "Hey," she whispered. "You can trust me."

Klaus had a heart of stone – most of the time, and yet he still found himself having to blink away his emotions that overwhelmed him. Then his blue eyes went back to black; cold and dead. He smiled almost coldly, sending chills down Caroline's spine. "Well, if you say so, then it must be true."

Caroline remained still.

"Do you want to know why I'm here, Caroline?" He whispered, leaning closer towards her.

She remained still, because a part of her didn't want to know.

"Do you want to know what my mysterious new plan is?" His nose grazed hers, making Caroline's breath catch.

"What it is that I want most in the world..?" He slowly moved a strand of hair behind her ear, stroking her cheek gently as he did. Caroline's eyes closed and her lips parted, still not able to move or even breathe with anticipation. Klaus leaned in closer and his lips grazed her ear. "What my _evil_ intentions are..?"

Caroline's hands, still grasping onto Klaus's own, gripped tighter. She could feel every nerve in her body; every inch of her skin vibrated as she pressed her cheek against his own...

Then Klaus sighed heavily, and swiftly moved away from her, his hand dropping from her cheek, while his other hand remained firmly in Caroline's grasp.

Klaus smiled darkly, his eyes blacker than ever. "I'm going to bring Kol back."


	18. Family Loyalty

Chapter 18:

Family Loyalty

Caroline's hands dropped to her sides in shock, leaving his own still in the air.

Caroline blinked. Repeatedly. Her mouth gaped open and she just stared at him with widening eyes.

But then her... _Caroline_ness kicked in. "Are you serious?!"

Klaus raised a brow.

She raised her hands in the air. "Like, _seriously_ serious?!"

Klaus's smirk turned less evil and more genuine for some reason.

Caroline scoffed, shaking her head. "You can't... You can't _do_ that, Klaus!" She brought her fingers to her lips anxiously. "...I don't think it's even possible..."

"Oh, no – it's possible. Believe me," Klaus said with a slight chuckle. "If you had any idea how long it took me to figure that one out..." He beamed, trailing off at the end.

It would have been a moment of panic that went through him if she wasn't permanently panicked since she had been told about Kol.

"Okay," Caroline said, raising a halting hand in the air. "Klaus, this is crazy! You can't resurrect your dead brother! I mean... He was daggered! He was _killed _with the _ultimate_ weapon!"

Klaus's gaze darkened and he leaned closer to her for a second. "I know, love. I was there." That time, Klaus really had to force back tears at the memory of his brother's death. A momentary feeling of bind hatred for the Gilbert's came next, but he forced all those emotions away.

"Right," Caroline clicked her fingers, "Right before you bit me in retaliation."

Klaus raised his hands in the air then let the fall against his legs. "Let bygones be bygones."

"But back to the whole 'resurrecting the dead' thingy – how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Then Caroline's eyes widened further. "The veil."

Klaus raised a brow as he watched the blonde try and put the pieces together.

She raised her finger his way with accusation. "You plan on bringing Kol back by lowering – or removing, or whatever – the veil." She frowned. "And for that, you need the cure... And Silas." Then Caroline rolled her eyes and sneered. "Oh, my god!"

Klaus smiled proudly. "Still more than just a pretty face, I see."

"Are you an idiot?"

Klaus's smile became a pout. "I take it you're not too impressed with my 'master plan'," he suggested with melodramatic jazz hands that he then webbed together like a true villain.

Caroline shook her head, still looking at him like he was crazy – which he was. "No, I'm thrilled," she said bitchily and sarcastically. "You want to remove – or lower or, I dunno, _something _to the veil... Which, _by the way_, brings back every supernatural dead thing! Meaning vampires. And werewolves." She placed her hands on her hips in that wonderfully bitchy way she could do. "I don't know if you knew that, but..." She said mockingly. Klaus gave her a look. "I mean is it _really _worth a brother that I'm pretty sure you hated?"

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Caroline, love, when you've known someone a thousand years, you grow an attachment to them – good or bad," he raised a halting finger, "But when you're _related_ to someone, you grow a _serious_ attachment to them. I may have hated Kol sometimes, but I always loved him." Klaus blinked the tears away. "Always and forever," he said while Caroline looked at him curiously. But only Klaus knew the true importance behind that word.

_Always and forever_.

"...Okay, whatever," Caroline said, dismissing his words. "Back to the whole veil thing—"

"So I see you've given up on deciding if the veil is lowered or removed or... 'whatever'..." He said with a wry, mocking smile and quotation marks.

Caroline flashed a glare at him, still with her hands on her hips. "Bite me," she sneered.

"Don't tempt me," he warned.

Caroline bobbed her head, slapping her hand against her leg in realisation of what a hybrid bite would do.

"...Unless you'd like to go through that whole... heartfelt bonding and revelation of deep emotions thing again—"

"Okay, stop," Caroline commanded with the raise her hand.

Klaus smirked.

Caroline looked at him, only not with a grudging glare but with concern. She sighed. "Do you need to have an intervention?"

Klaus just blinked, staring blankly at her with his mouth gaping slightly open. Then he blinked some more. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response."

Klaus turned and walked back to the slightly wrecked car with Caroline watching him walk away. And she caught herself watching his cute behind as he strutted away. "Ugh," Caroline muttered in disgust with herself before forcing herself to look away.

Klaus turned around in his black leather shoes and looked at her. "Well, are you coming?" Klaus opened her door. "Or not?" He added, resting his arms on the door in wait.

She shrugged, still remaining where she stood. "Where else could you possibly need to go?"

"You'll see."


	19. Humble Bragging

Chapter 19:

Humble Bragging

Matt may be a lionhearted man, but a part of him was still a naive, rash boy at times. Before just driving off into the sunset to rescue Caroline from the evil hybrid, he stopped at the Mystic Grill, which he was supposed to be working at right now. Of course, Matt was the type of person to drop everything for his friends – even if it's merely because Elena asked him to meet her at the Salvatore Boarding House.

Matt parked his car in the lot and walked quickly into the back room of the Grill. Matt looked around him, before noticing that no one was there with him, and when he did, he got on his hands and knees and yanked open the slightly large air vent that had been used as an escape once or twice. After awhile, both Matt and Jeremy decided to hide a huge duffle bag full of emergency weapons in there. Without so much as a blink of hesitation, he slugged it over his muscly shoulder and quickly walked out through the front door – only he bumped into Jeremy instead.

Jeremy frowned and smiled at Matt, surprised. "Matt, hey... What are you doing here?"

Matt frowned at him. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at school right now?"

Jeremy hesitated. "Yeah, uh..."

Matt looked at him with necessary suspicion, but decided to ignore it and grin, instead. "It's okay, man. I'd be lying if I said I didn't ditch every once in awhile."

Jeremy tried to force a smile upon his face but instead looked down at his shoes, because he wasn't ditching school so much as living through his three day suspension that Elena still wasn't aware of.

Matt glanced behind his shoulder at the exit impotently from the bar. 'So look, uh, I've gotta go. But, uh, take it easy," he said, patting Jeremy on the shoulder with his hand in a rather manly way.

Jeremy gestured to the duffel bag of weapons hanging from his shoulder. "With a bag full of human-friendly vampire weapons?"

Matt sighed, grimacing. "I never was James Bond at secret keeping," he said, adding a warmhearted smile to his words.

Jeremy couldn't help but smile along with him. "What's going on, Matt?"

Matt figured Elena hadn't told him about Caroline, yet, based on her reaction, but he didn't know if Elena was ever intending to tell him. But Matt decided to on account of honour and feelings of duty, and the fact that he considered Jeremy his friend helped make his decision, as well.

"Caroline's been kidnapped by Klaus, so I'm gonna go save her."

"So much for not being James Bond," Jeremy said, ignoring the freaking out part of the equation. Matt raised a brow when he also noticed the strangeness in his reaction. Jeremy shrugged. "Living in Mystic Falls, you learn not to be shocked by anything that happens." He shrugged again. "Plus what good will freaking out do?"

"Good point," Matt said.

There was a not-so awkward pause.

Matt jabbed a thumb in the direction of the Mystic Grill's front door again. "...I should get going—"

"Okay, let's go."

"Huh?" Matt asked, confused.

Jeremy looked at him and shrugged like that was expected. "You're about to go up against an original hybrid who can't be killed... And you seriously think I'm not coming with you?"

"That's right; you're not," Matt stated, becoming more serious than before.

Jeremy grinned at his attempt at showing authority. Then he pointed two index fingers at himself. "I'm a Member of the Five," he said, but somehow remained sounding humble. "That means I have more strength, faster reflexes and on top of it all, I know how to take down some pretty epic vampires on my own... You should be thankful I'm letting you go," Jeremy said, now pointing his finger at Matt.

The All-American boy looked and listened to him, becoming hesitant with his decision.

Jeremy continued, still being that determined little Gilbert boy who always wants to help. "I have those strengths... And no offense, dude, but you're just a human," Jeremy said with warm, caring eyes.

Then Matt held up his hand in front of his face, baring a ugly, but very powerful ring. "A human with Jonathan Gilbert's magic ring," he almost bragged with a grin.

Jeremy's lips curled into his own wry smile.


	20. Disgusting Seduction

Chapter 20:

Disgusting Seduction

Caroline's curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she got in the car. She figured he'd bring her to a witch or a sired vampire or extra hybrid for some conniving reason of some sort. She figured it would involve whatever it was that Klaus and Elijah were arguing about, which she figured also involved Kol. But what was she doing, instead?

Shopping.

Before Caroline could take a step inside the store, Klaus stopped her with his arm. "Not that I'm one for retail, love, but I believe I owe you." He looked away from the store window into her eyes. "Take all the time you need."

Caroline laughed at the mere sight of new clothes. It was one of those teen-adult stores so every square inch of the store was covered with modern, peppy, disturbingly sweet decoration while loud, thumping music surrounded them. Fortunately, there weren't too many people there. Just a few.

And while it felt like just another way she would usually spend her weekend, it was hell for Klaus. His sister was right – this did sound like a cable car accident.

Klaus sighed. "I take it back."

Caroline looked at him.

"You have 45 minutes before this music drives me crazy." He looked back at her. "Make it count," he said with the natural raise of his brow and the curling of his bottom lip. She studied him, figuring out if that was more sexy of him, or more scary.

Klaus started to walk away to the seating area where all the other boys and boyfriends were waiting. Caroline watched him walk away with an amused expression upon her pretty little face. And then, when she really realised where she was, grinned even more.

Caroline started at the beginning of the store, which seemed the most pricey and finished – well, she didn't necessarily finish. But she certainly took her time.

After about twenty minutes of picking out item after item she literally snapped her fingers to get Klaus's attention then wavered him over. Klaus, who was lounging on one of the pink puffy couches by the dressing room stared at her in disbelief. Caroline wavered him over again, and he got up and within seconds, he was by her side, still frowning at her in disbelief.

"I will not be summoned like your little lap dog, Caroline."

Caroline didn't even bother turning around as she continued flicking her finger through more items of clothing on the funny shaped rack. "Actually you just did, so..." She flashed a grin his way before turning back to the clothes.

Through gritted teeth – which was great resistance on his part – he asked, "Are you ready to go, then?"

Caroline turned around and laughed. "God no. I 'summoned' you here to help."

Klaus raised a brow. "You want me to dispense fashion advice?"

Caroline looked him up and down before laughing again. "Oh, please," she giggled. Klaus's tolerance was growing thin. "No, I just want you to help by holding these," she said before slumping what seemed like every item in the store into his arms. Klaus looked at her with an expression that said 'you can't be serious' and then down at the clothes. "...Can I go back to being the lap dog, and not the overly tolerant boyfriend?"

Caroline sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Look," she said calmly, "If you want to stay on my good side, you'll help."

"You mean this has been your good side?" Klaus asked rudely.

Caroline's gaze darkened immediately. "Yes," she said before turning back to the clothes.

Klaus clicked his tongue, "Okay... Far be it from to complain," he said with an extremely tolerant smile.

Caroline snorted in derision and clear disagreement.

Klaus frowned at her, shifting the clothing's weight in his hands uncomfortably. "Now that's not very nice – especially after I agreed to help you."

Caroline turned around again and placed her hand on his surprisingly muscly arm. "You're right, I'm sorry... And I'm very grateful." She smiled warmly, rubbing her hand up and down his upper arm before removing it.

Klaus smiled his dimply smile. "Thank you."

Another ten minutes went by where Caroline walked _unbelievably _slowly through all the items of clothing in the store with Klaus standing behind her, glaring daggers into the back of her head as he held every item she passed him. What was worse was that they were walking turtle speed, which is extremely hard to endure as a somewhat fast human, but as a vampire? It was bloody brutal. And what was worse was that the music continued to thud through his ears – he'd come to the point where his eye would twitch to the beat.

"...Okay... I think that's all of it..." Caroline muttered slowly.

Klaus's eyes rolled to the back of his head in relief. "Oh, thank goodness!" He breathed in satisfaction. He looked at her almost as pleadingly as the time he asked her to get the stake out from his back. "Can we go, now?"

Caroline looked at him like he was insane, and a little stupid. "Of course not, Klaus – I have to try them on." She grinned with excitement and then walked over to the dressing room.

Klaus's brow stitched together. He looked down at the clothes then back at her as she walked away. "You must be joking!"

"Nope."

He slumped after her. "There must be a hundred things here!"

"I know," Caroline sighed as she starting filing through the clothes hanging over his arms. "I totally didn't get enough..."

Klaus's mouth slowly gaped open.

She looked up and grinned at him. "Relax, I was kidding." She snorted. "I'm not _that_ cliche."

Klaus's miserable expression remained as she removed a small chunk from his arms and dashed into the dressing room area.

He sighed and fell into the nearest ugly pink chair.

Klaus had eventually given up on holding the clothes and dumped them on the chair while he paced impatiently, his elbow resting on his arm as he reoccurringly rubbed at his neck. Eventually, one of the retail ladies approached him in her stylized clothes and 'perfect' makeup with her hands cutely clasped together in front of her. She looked like a barbie doll, but with olive skin and brown hair.

Not nearly as perfect as Caroline.

"Hello, sir, is there anything I can help your girlfriend with?" She asked with a fake smile plastered on her face.

Klaus couldn't help but smile at the sound of that... _Your girlfriend_... He opened his mouth to speak, but Caroline interrupted. "He is _not_ my boyfriend," she called out through the door.

Klaus flashed a glare her way, which she obviously couldn't see, then smiled politely at the girl. "No, love, we're fine," he said to her, then raised his voice intentionally when he added, "We'll be leaving shortly, anyhow."

"Ignore him," Caroline said and the retail girl smiled more broadly.

The retail lady turned to walk away but not before Klaus quickly grasped her arm. "Actually, love, it would be greatly appreciated if you would change this incessant music to something a little more... jazzy." His pupils dilated as he looked deep into her pale green eyes and compelled her.

The lady smiled politely again, nodded and walked away.

Then Klaus contemplated something. He placed his hands behind his back and began to walk slowly towards the closed changing room door. "I've been thinking..."

"There's a first for everything," Caroline quipped.

Klaus smiled tightly so his lips were a thin line... His tolerance was dwindling...

"You lied to that _lovely_ girl."

"How so?"

He flicked his finger in the air. "How am I not your boyfriend?"

"_What?_"

Klaus shrugged, enjoying the fact that he didn't have to look at her as he said this. "We've kissed. More than once. We've held hands. We've spent over 24 hours together without killing each other and with enough sexual tension... Hell, we've even slept together. And here I stand waiting on you, hand and foot like a weak modern-aged boyfriend would... Though I must say, there was an advantage to the days where women were expected to follow the man's every whim..."

Klaus leaned against the other changing room next to hers, arrogantly waiting for a reply.

"...We did _not_ sleep together..."

Klaus smirked. "Actually, love, we did. Granted, it would have been more enjoyable if we were naked, but—"

"Beggars can't be choosers?" Caroline suggested.

"Come, now," Klaus said, not wanting to back down as he enjoyed toying with her so much. "...You welcomed me with open arms..." He leaned his smirking lips closer to the door. "...It's only a matter of time before you welcome me with open legs..."

Suddenly the door opened. Caroline stood there glaring into his beaming eyes with a pouty expression. Klaus couldn't help but notice the fact that she was wearing an extremely sexy black cocktail dress.

With his vamp speed, he was suddenly inches away from her lips. "Want to know a secret?"

Caroline continued to glare at him, clearly unimpressed.

"I lied about the rat," Klaus smirked, thinking back to that night in the motel room when he faked a freak out over a rat.

"Ugh, you're disgusting!" Caroline sneered, beginning to shove him out of the changing room.

Klaus just grinned, already knowing what to expect. "And yet I'm still bearable to kiss," he bragged.

"Out!" She ordered, giving him one last shove, which made him trip back a few steps. The door slammed shut on his face and he couldn't help but grin.

Before retreating back to the disturbingly pink seat, he leaned his luscious lips close to the door. Then Klaus whispered, "You look ravishing, by the way..."

Caroline remained on the other side of the door as Klaus whispered those words. She brought her fingers to her forehead, thinking back to that night in the motel room when he kissed her forehead and told her that he loved her. She found herself grinning.


	21. Trusting Viscousness

**Author's Notes: **

I know I've already done this, but I'd just like to thank Diamond Desert again. Her reviews make this entire story worth it.

Chapter 21:

Trusting Viscousness

The two walked further away from the Mystic Grill's front door towards his truck where the bright sun beamed off it.

"Okay, so just so you know – we're driving the whole way there to New Orleans. It's like a twelve hour drive," Matt said to Jeremy as he opened up the back door and shoved the duffle bag of weapons on the seats. Jeremy bobbed his head with one hand shoved into his pockets casually and the other gripping onto the strap of his school bag. "Okay."

"Great," Matt said, then closed the back door. He smiled like he did naturally. "Then I guess we should get going?" He suggested.

Jeremy glanced down at him shoes then back up at him with those sweet puppy dog eyes. "Yeah. We've got a long way to go."

Matt grimaced as he looked at Jeremy. "I still don't know if bringing you with me is a great idea... I mean, we're going up against Klaus."

Jeremy sighed. "Look – I'm sick of being the kid in the group who can't do anything," he widened his eyes in dramatic affect, "Who _always_ has to be protected." He slugged the bag further up his shoulder. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I can take care of myself."

"And I don't know if you've noticed, but you _just_ came back from the dead."

Jeremy shrugged. "And what good would I be if I just used my second chance doing nothing?"

Matt would have argued more, but he could easily relate. Matt knew what it was like to be thought of as nothing more than just precious cargo that got in the way a lot, and needed to be protected. He was almost as sick of it as Jeremy was. "Alright, get in the truck."

Jeremy nodded. "Okay," he said with a grin as he made his way quickly around the other side, almost in fear that if he didn't hurry, Matt would drive off without him.

Matt pointed an almost threatening finger at him. "But you're calling your sister on the road," he added, still being the good All-American boy. The boys both opened their door simultaneously, about to get in when they heard a chillingly familiar voice.

"You two are both still idiots, I see."

Matt turned around and Jeremy looked over the hood of the truck, already halfway in the passenger's seat.

And there they saw her.

"Elena," Matt said with his sad baby blue eyes piercing her cold brown ones. Jeremy took a closer look, staring into his sister's eyes. They remained dark and cold. Why were they cold?

Immediately, Jeremy rushed around from his side of the truck to stand next to Matt, his hands clenched into fists by his side.

Jeremy glared at the slightly messy girl who stood in front of them in her high black heels, skinny jeans and leather jacket.

"Katherine..." He breathed, trying to control his anger for the girl that killed him.

Katherine grinned proudly, lowering her chin to gaze more darkly at the two boys. "Mm, you catch on quick, little Gilbert," she said in that permanently sexy way she always did.

Matt, looking confused as usual, looked back from Katherine to Jeremy and back to her. His tortured sad eyes grew a little darker, sharing the mutual hatred he had for her with Jeremy.

Katherine, still smiling arrogantly, raised her hands in defeat. "You can relax... I pose no threat to you," she said as she placed a not-so manicured hand on her curvy him.

Jeremy frowned, putting every little detail together in his head. "Something's different about you..."

"Yeah, you're a mess," Matt said with a surprisingly rude grimace as he looked the disheveled girl up and down.

Katherine raised a brow, then lazily pointed a finger Matt's way. "I thought you were supposed to be the sweet one..."

Matt, growing irritated and impatient very quickly, squinted his eyes. "What do you want, Katherine?"

Jeremy continued to study her every action, her every movement.

"Me?" She asked rhetorically. "Apparently, I am saving you two from getting yourselves killed."

Jeremy glared at her. "We're fine, thanks," he sneered.

"Aw, come on... You're not still mad at me for killing you, are you?" She asked still with that horribly arrogant smile.

Jeremy's glare darkened as he remembered what Bonnie gave up to save him... All because of her...

And then it clicked. Jeremy's eyes widened and he pointed at her. "You're human."

"What?" Matt asked, whipping his head around to look her way.

"Yeah," Jeremy glanced at him before looking back at her. "You took the cure... You're not a vampire, anymore."

Katherine rolled her eyes and she started to slowly take steps closer to them. "I thought artists were supposed to be to dumb to put basic facts together..." She smiled at Matt. "...Or is that just the quarterbacks?"

Matt swallowed, refusing to retort and sink to her level. "Whatever," he mumbled. "Come on, Jer, let's go," he said before turning around and opening his door.

"Wait," Katherine said a little too desperately for a girl like her.

Jeremy continued to study her.

"What?" Matt snapped, wanting nothing more than to be rid of her and be on his way to save Caroline.

Katherine hesitated, still looking a little too disheveled to be her natural self. "...Take me with you."

Matt accidentally slammed his door closed with anger as he turned around to glare at her. "What did you just say?"

Katherine stood up straight and placed her hand back on her hip, trying to remain poised and dignified despite her sudden outburst. "I said take me with you." She shrugged. "It's for your own good, you know."

"No way in hell!" Matt said, while Jeremy continued to remain silent, studying her every move.

"Look," Katherine began, raising a halting hand in order to get him to shut up. "If you're trying to take down Klaus to save your precious Caroline, then I'm your best bet."

Matt snorted at her ridiculous offer.

Katherine did her best to ignore it, trying to stop herself from using every insult in the book. "I know Klaus better than anyone. I know how he thinks and what he's capable of—"

"He killed my aunt," Jeremy snapped. "Believe me, I know _exactly_ what he's capable of."

Katherine raised a brow. "You sure about that?" She laughed at him slightly. "Believe _me_, that's just the tip of the iceberg of what he's capable of..."

Jeremy gritted his teeth. He was using all his restraint to stop from lunging at her and throttling that bitch's neck. "You're just a pathetic human now, Katherine. What the hell can you offer us?"

Katherine gritted her own teeth and rolled her eyes. "I already told you, Gilbert. Knowledge; insight. Which, by the way, is a hell of a lot more than two little boys and a duffle bag full of weapons," she raised her voice, "None of which can take down an original hybrid." She took a step forward, avoiding sounding desperate. "You need me."

Both Matt and Jeremy stared at her sceptically.

"What's in it for you?"

Katherine's lips parted, hesitant of what to tell these two idiots with crossbows.

Jeremy gently whacked Matt on the arm. "Come on, let's go," he said without inviting Katherine.

"Wait!" She growled. Katherine may be human, but she's still a feisty, intolerant little bitch. "I promise you two; my reasons for coming with you are not going to affect your plans in _any _way... There's just someone I need to see."

"Who?" Matt asked, already being sucked in.

Katherine pursed her lips and raised her chin. "A certain original vampire that only you two can lead me to."

"Why us?"

She couldn't help but scoff at their stupidity. "Do you really think Klaus's brother and annoying little sister won't come running to save him when you two approach him?" She snorted and shook her head. "I was right; quarterbacks and artists_ are_ idiots."

Matt and Jeremy looked at each other as though having a telepathic conversation. Matt shrugged, _couldn't hurt to have a back-up plan_. Jeremy sighed and bobbed his head in agreement, though still reluctant to trust the bitch that killed him.

Matt looked back at Katherine. "Just get in the truck and keep quiet." He looked at Jeremy. "It's a long drive ahead of us."

Katherine's lips curled into a smile.


	22. Deceitful Honesty

Chapter 22:

Deceitful Honesty

Caroline sat across from Klaus slumped in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest and a pouty expression on her face. The two were sitting at one of the many round tables with white tablecloth, red roses and candles in the center. To this day, the place they were in was still the best restaurant in New Orleans, and one of Klaus's favourite places to dine.

He sat comfortably across from her, swirling a glass of red wine in his hand.

Soon a waiter came with two plates of food – steak, potatoes, greens and some kind of fancy french sauce. The usual.

"Thank you, darling," Klaus said to the man with a smile before bringing the glass of wine back to his lips. Caroline continued to glare at him like a child while Klaus smiled back charmingly and completely unfazed.

Eventually Klaus spoke up. "This was my favourite place, once some time ago."

Caroline still glared.

He pointed at the plate. "Sweetheart, eat your veggies," he said, but was cut off by his own amused laughter.

Caroline's cat-like eyes narrowed down on him. "What?"

He attempted to stop his laughter but couldn't.

"Why are you laughing?" She asked, her irritation growing.

He eventually stopped laughing to the point where he was just grinning cutely. "Oh, it's just... I said the same thing to yet another lovely blonde." He gave her a certain look. "You two actually have a lot in common." Caroline just continued to glare. He raised his glass, momentarily pointing a finger her way. "You know, if you gave her a chance, you might actually become the best of friends."

"I'll take it under consideration," Caroline sneered sarcastically.

Klaus raised a brow.

Caroline released a breath she didn't know she was holding in, and looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry." Then after a second of thought she shook her head. "No—I'm not sorry. Your sister is a bitch."

Quite frankly, Caroline had no idea how Klaus would react to that. Anger? Humour? Indifference?

Klaus's brow line raised further up his forehead and continued to smile with his charming little dimples. "Yes, she is – but like I said: you two have a lot in common." He winked at her and raised his glass in the air. "Cheers."

Caroline rolled her eyes and grinned. "Okay, I kinda deserved that."

Klaus tucked his chair in and picked up his fork while bobbing his head in agreement. "So did she."

He flicked out his napkin and placed it in his lap while just sat up, unfolding her stubborn arms.

"Well, love. Dig in."

Caroline raised brow. "I'm not eating until I get an apology from you," she said stubbornly.

Klaus sighed, then placed his knife back down on his plate. "What for, my love? For kidnapping you? For the phone call to Elena?"

"For trying to rattle me." She paused. "And actually, yeah. Now that you mention it: for everything else, too." She smiled cutely.

Klaus mimicked her smile. "Very well... I am sorry." Then he stopped himself, just like Caroline did. "No – actually, love, no. I'm not sorry. Not even close."

Caroline looked at him with bewilderment, her lips parting to speak. Or yell.

"Now listen, love," Klaus said before she could say anything. Caroline couldn't help but notice she was calling her 'love' more than usual.

"I could apologise for all the things I've done so far—"

"'So far'?" Caroline interrupted anxiously.

"—Are you completely incapable of staying silent?" He asked with clear irritation in his tone. "...As I was saying. I am not going to sit here and lie to you."

Caroline sat back in her seat, paying close attention to every word, which was as close to an explanation as she would ever come to hear.

Klaus leaned forward and webbed his fingers together. "I am not sorry because every action got me everything I wanted."

Caroline raised a brow, expecting more of an explanation.

He slowly leaned back into his chair, shrugging. "That call to Elena? It got me a glorious kiss with you. Rattling you up, just before? Got you one step closer to admitting what you truly feel for me... And kidnapping you? It got me what I wanted most; your safety."

Caroline moved closer, leaning her arms against the table. "And what about that fake rat freak out thing?" She sneered.

"It got me yet another thing I wanted."

"What? To get me into bed?" Caroline spat.

He immediately leaned forward. "No Caroline," he hissed, then breathed out deeply through his nose and closed his eyes, but only for a second. "It got me closer to you."

Deep down, Caroline already knew his desires were nothing but pure. And yet hearing the words still made her breath catch in shock.

Klaus didn't stop. "It got you to hold my hand after I kissed you and whispered that I loved you."

"Don't..." Caroline said, looking down because she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye.

Klaus reached forward and took her hand with both of his. "No, you need to hear this."

She snatched her hand away. "I don't want to, Klaus!"

"Why not?"

"_Because then it makes it real!_" She hissed through gritted teeth before smacking her napkin onto the table and storming off – which was a little hard in six inch heeled pumps.


	23. Truthful Denial

Chapter 23:

Truthful Denial

Klaus decided to give her a little time to cool off outside before going after her. But he was never considered a patient man. It took him all of twenty seconds to smack his own napkin down onto the table before storming off after her.

He found her standing outside leaning against the brick wall of the restaurant, hugging herself from the wind. The slight breeze blew at her hair and the moonlight beamed a shine off of it. She stared down at the concrete floor looking more shaken than ever. It reminded Klaus of the time she killed those witches – only this time he promised himself he would behave differently. And the Mikaelson's always keep their promises.

Klaus stared at her with concern as he stood by the door, then made sure his face showed no sign of it before taking a few steps closer. He thought she would notice and shout 'don't' again, but she didn't.

He sighed with his hands shoved in his pockets and leaned against the same brick wall right next to her. Caroline didn't even look up. But Klaus waited for her to speak first.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you..." She mumble, her eyes still locked on the floor beneath her.

"If I'm not going to apologise, then you shouldn't either," Klaus said kindly with a smile, feeling completely out of his comfort zone.

She looked at him. And then suddenly he couldn't bring himself to smile, anymore. The look of sadness deep in her expressive blue eyes just made him stop dead. Every thought, every intention, even something as simple as breath... It just stopped. And he couldn't bring himself to look away from her. He couldn't bring himself to look away from those perfect blue eyes.

"I know you're in love with me," she said then smiled sadly for a second. "You won't let me forget it."

Klaus still couldn't look away.

"But I can't keep hearing it."

All he managed to do was swallow.

"Klaus..." Caroline stood up and reached for his hand, getting his wrist instead as they were still lodged in his pockets. "I _know_ that you love me. I know."

"I understand," Klaus croaked still looking into those broken blue eyes.

"No you don't," she said, squeezing his wrist harder. "And the reason I can't keep hearing it is because then—"

"—It makes it real?" He said, finishing off her sentence. Caroline's hands began to tremble and he stood up straight. "What does that even mean, Caroline?"

She bit her lip. "It means..." Caroline had to hold back tears and she didn't know if she could get the words out. "It means that these feelings... These feelings for you that I have been having becomes more than just a faint fantasy... It becomes _real_."

Klaus felt a hot tear roll down his cheek. "Will you ever love me?"

Caroline stared down at the floor, not able to stare him in the eye without fear of crying like a baby. _Stay strong_, She told herself. She forced herself to look at him; to look into those tortured black eyes and tell the truth. "I love Tyler, Klaus."

It was worse than a dagger.

"I never stopped loving Tyler... He _still_ is my first love!" She whimpered, squeezing his wrist even tighter to the point where it felt numb.

Klaus looked away. A rush of anger and despair came rushing to the surface. All he wanted to do was yell. Kill. And love. He loved her, and he couldn't handle it.

"Klaus," Caroline said. She took his face in her hands and said, "Klaus, look at me!"

He forced himself to do it, but it took every sheer bit of will to.

"Remember what you said? Remember," she told him, "You said that he was my first love... And that you, Klaus. _You..._ would be my last."

"...However long it takes..." He breathed through his tears.

Caroline's hands fell from his face down to his neck, which she held onto. She didn't want to let him go.

"And you will be, Klaus." She smiled weakly. "I didn't want to believe it, but it's the truth..."

The crying pair of eyes stared into each others, like it was their own reflection.

"All you have to do is keep fighting... Be the man that I can love, Klaus."

He let every single hot tear left in him fall down his narrow cheeks, until there were none left. "I can't."

"Yes you can!"

"No," Klaus said, pushing her hands away. He rubbed at his eyes and buried his face in his hands. "No, I can't, Caroline... That's not who I am... I can't change that..."

"Fine," Caroline snapped, slapping a hand against her leg. "Then just give up."

He whipped his head around and looked at her. "DO YOU THINK I WANT TO?!"

She didn't speak. She just watched him explode.

"DO YOU THINK I LIKE WHO I AM?!" He shouted furiously, "DO YOU THINK I LIKE WHO I'VE BECOME?!"

Caroline gritted her teeth, fighting back more tears just threatening to fall down. "Yes." She looked directly at him; deep into those broken eyes of fury. "Because you're the strongest person I know! You have the power to be how you want to be!" She yelled back. "You're supposed to be a king!"

Klaus snapped his mouth shut at the word_..._

_King._

Caroline forced herself to take one step closer. "You are strong enough, Klaus... You can become the man can love, because I can _see _him," she spat. "I can see him somewhere in there, deep down. You just need to fight."

Klaus's entire body trembled with rage, fear and love... The three most powerful emotions, and he could feel them all at once.

Then Caroline took his face in her hands again as she made herself look him right in the eye. "Those who are capable of love... Can be saved..."

He placed his hands over hers. "Do you still think I can be saved?"

"Yes," she said, and then placed her lips hard against his forehead, kissing him. In the same place he kissed her, once. And then she whispered, "I can save you, Klaus..."

**Author's Notes:**

Okay, so this chapter got really intense _really_ quickly. Quite frankly, I'm a little disappointed in it, and I didn't intend for it to be so intense – but I realised witty banter could only continue for so long.

And if you don't like it, then screw you! Write your own bloody story... Just kidding... Sort of...


	24. Passive Manipulation

Chapter 24:

Passive Manipulation

Katherine sat in the middle of the back seat with her arms folded over her chest one leg folded over the other. She sat in the middle so she could watch both Jeremy and Matt and everything they did. The way Katherine looked at it was the more she could find out about them, the better.

Matt just kept driving with Jeremy falling asleep in the seat next to him with his earplugs in. So Katherine resorted to Matt for entertainment.

"So," she began which already made Matt shift uncomfortably in his seat. "Why are you going after Vampire Barbie, Blue Eyes?"

Matt frowned. "I'm not 'going after' her... I'm saving her."

She snorted. "Please... If you think you're going to make it one foot inside New Orleans without getting your head crushed, then you're an idiot."

Matt shook his head. "I not going to get sucked into your little games, Katherine."

She raised a brow and smiled wryly. "Mm... I like a challenge..."

He continued to stare ahead. "I've heard about you. About how you use guys to your advantage."

She shrugged, still keeping that arrogant smile attached to her face. "Trust me: They got something out of it," she said with a seductive wink.

_God, his eyes are so blue!_ She thought.

Matt grimaced at that last comment. She rolled her eyes and stared back at the back of his head – or at least his ear. "Oh, don't get grossed out," she said, her wry smile returning to those red lips. She raised her chin and said, "I know how you feel about Elena. And being her Doppleganger... I am lucky enough to look _exactly_ like her."

Katherine noticed how Matt took about a second too long to respond. "I don't love Elena." He glanced down sadly before looking back ahead. "...Not anymore."

Katherine's smile grew as she found herself further and further into his mind. She was like a cat with catnip. "But you do still care about her."

Matt gripped the steering wheel almost angrily. "The only thing I feel towards Elena, right now is anger. And disappointment."

"That's two things." Katherine uncrossed her legs and leaned closer to his ear, resting her arm against his chair. "And what about Caroline?" She shrugged and said, "I mean, from what I've heard, you two lovebirds split some time ago."

Matt shook his head. "I'm not in love with Caroline, either!" He sighed. "Forget it, I wouldn't expect a psychopath like you to understand."

"Hey," she snapped. "I'm not a psychopath, okay? Just because you idiots think you know the real me, doesn't mean you do," she said before slumping back into her chair. She rubbed her fingers against her head. "Ugh, hangovers."

Matt looked at her in the rear view mirror to see her now glaring back at him. At least it was improvement from her smile. "Is that why you're coming with us?" He asked and she continued to glare, knowing that looking away would show emotion. She saw no benefit for herself in doing that.

Matt kept going. "Because of some dude named Elijah? What is it, Katherine?" He asked. "Are you in love with him, or do you just need him for something?" He shrugged. "It's that what you do? What you always do with guys?"

"Guys that easily manipulated deserve whatever they get," she smirked and shrugged. "In the same way Elena manipulated you for all those years."

Matt looked back into the rear view mirror with those suffering, heartbroken blue eyes to see her dark cold heartless ones. They were almost complete opposites in every way.

"But no one holds a candle to you, Katherine," Matt mumbled. "And no offence, but how do you think Klaus is gonna feel when he realises you're alive?"

She raised her chin, remaining poised. "Elijah will protect me," she said confidently.

"You sure about that?" Matt asked.

Katherine looked back up into the rear view mirror coldly. "Manipulation isn't your strong suit, Quarterback." She leaned forward. "And no matter how pretty those eyes of yours are, I'm sure as hell not gonna miss them when they roll to the back of your head because you're dead," she said darkly and with so much certainty in her voice that it made Matt's heart rate speed up. Katherine's lips pressed together thinly and curled into one last smile before slumping back into her seat.


	25. Strange Normalities

Chapter 25:

Strange Normalities

Klaus opened the already unlocked door and slowly walked inside with Caroline right behind him. The two both looked tired, weak and both had puffy, red eyes. Klaus could only remember the last time he cried for that long, or that much. It was when his brother died – in front of him. He had to stay there and watch from the Gilbert living room as his burnt corpse remained untouched and in sight. And yet when his body was covered up, he wanted nothing more then to just see him again.

The two were back in the same hotel 'room', which was more of an apartment than anything else. Without saying a word or even glancing her way, he walked up the spiral iron staircase with Caroline following him. It brought them to another floor with a balcony that looked down onto the first. And on this floor were two corridors, each with three doors down them.

Klaus gestured to the three doors that looked out onto the balcony. "The room on the end is yours, the bathroom is right here, and this is mine," he mumbled and immediately headed for the door to his apparent room without looking at her.

"Klaus, wait," she said and reached for his hand, which curled around the gold handle. His grip tightened and he adverted his eyes, instead looking at the floor. Caroline immediately removed her hand from his. "Is this how it's going to be from now on?" She asked. "Awkward shyness and a resistance to even look at me?"

Klaus's breath came out shaky before replying, "I'm not one for expressing my emotions, so you'll forgive me if I seem a little unpleasant..." He still didn't look anywhere else but at the small bit of light shining through the crack at the bottom of his red door.

She sighed, a crease on her forehead as she frowned at him, almost with what seemed like disappointment. "I preferred the cocky you," she said before turning away and walking to her door.

"Wow, there's a version of me you actually like – well, that's something," he said, looking up at her.

Caroline whipped her head around to look at him angrily. "I'm sorry – did you _not_ just have the same conversation I did?!"

Klaus raised a brow and faced her fully. "For both our sakes, I think we should pretend that that conversation never happened."

"Are you serious—" She gripped at her hair angrily, "—God! Why do I even bother with you, anymore?" She yelled angrily.

He took his time walking towards her. "Because you're a neurotic, controlling little shrew who couldn't keep her loud mouth shut, even if she tried."

"We're gonna have thirty seconds of silence," she said, turning her body to face the balcony with her arms folded stubbornly over her chest.

Klaus's head quirked to the side in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"I'm not going to talk to you for thirty seconds." Her head jolted his way. "You have twenty-five seconds left." She looked back ahead, gritting her teeth angrily, but still staring ahead with poise in her stand.

Klaus scoffed, his mouth gaping open with shock. "You're giving me the silent treatment?" He huffed, looked down, shook his head and looked back up. "Caroline..."

She glared at him again and raised her hand to get him to shut the hell up. "You have fifteen seconds left."

He continued to look at her in bewilderment. "Are you a child?"

She whipped her body around and placed her hands on her hips. "Actually, I'm a shrew," she retorted. "Right?" Caroline asked rhetorically, still bitchily as usual.

Klaus's lips curled into a smile. "I thought you weren't talking to me."

She paused for a second. "...I'm not," she said before turning her body to face the balcony again. "Not for the next ten seconds."

"You're acting very immature, Caroline... Not out of character for you, but..."

She flashed him a glare. "_Eight_ seconds."

He rolled his eyes. "This is the worst attempt at a silence treatment I have ever experienced."

"—I believe I was the master of that for several years, Nik. No one holds a candle to being silent for over eighty years with a dagger in your heart. Then again, I guess that counts as your silent treatment, now doesn't it?" Rebekah said, who was now suddenly in view.

Caroline and Klaus both turned to glare at her and said simultaneously, "What do you want?"

Rebekah smiled fakely. "Aw, how cute... you two are already talking at the same time..."

Klaus gritted his teeth and glared up at the ceiling. "What do you want, little sister?"

"Sleep," she said simply. "You two are keeping us all up."

"All? Who else? Oh yeah, you and the new 'love of your life'?" Caroline asked. "Where'd you find this one? The street corner? Or did you just bump into him in the hotel lobby?"

Immediately Rebekah had Caroline by the throat and up against the wall. "I have a thousand years on you, little girl," she growled. "Don't think shacking up with my brother will stop me from _squeezing_—" She tightened her grip to the point where Caroline was gasping for air. "—your little blonde head till you're dead, dead, dead."

"Rebekah, that's enough!" Klaus ordered, yanking her off. She stumbled back a little and grinned at him evilly. "Oh, don't be so naive, Nik," she mused, pointing a finger at Caroline who had fallen to the ground and was now clutching her already bruised neck. "She's going to break your heart the same way my was broken time after time."

Klaus gritted his teeth. "None of those boys ever cared enough for you, 'Bekah."

"I never said it was them who broke my heart, Nik," she shouted as she looked her big brother right in the eye. "It was you. You killed them, so I would be eternally alone! With no one but you." She stood up straight. "You know, I _should_ kill Caroline. It would show you what it's like to have someone you love taken from you," she said, making her way towards Caroline again.

Furiously, Klaus grabbed Rebekah by the neck and shoved her further away, making sure her face was close enough to see his. "If you so much as lay a finger on Caroline, I will rip. You. Apart." He threatened, saying every word with perfect clarity. "...Little sister..."

She managed to shove him away. "Are you that far gone, Nik? So far gone that you can't even see the true meaning of family, anymore?"

"If you think—"

"Enough!" Interrupted Elijah with a tired voice. He sighed quietly before turning to his younger siblings. "Niklaus, if you wish to remain welcome in this temporary home of ours, I expect you to show some restraint."

"She was the one who started it by attacking Caroline!"

Elijah straightened out his jacket and adjusted his pocket square. "Much like you have done with every love she has ever had over the centuries." Klaus went silent, and Elijah raised a brow before continuing. "Then perhaps you could be lenient with Rebekah, just this once."

Klaus, breathing heavily through his nose, glared at Rebekah, but reluctantly agreed. Slowly, Elijah began walking over to Caroline, who Klaus was standing in front of to protect her from Rebekah.

"...And as for you, Rebekah," Elijah continued. He knelt down and took the defenseless Caroline under the arm and gently pulled her up. "Though I find it understandable wanting to even the scores, so to speak, by killing one of Klaus's paramours, I do find it strange as to why you would ever want to inflict that sort of pain on another," he said as he held Caroline up by the waist and elbow. He looked at the enraged Rebekah who said nothing.

"And on another note; isn't the reason for coming back to New Orleans for the purpose of becoming a family again?" He said to the both of them, before turning his attention back to her. "Rebekah, if our brother is truly in love with Caroline, then perhaps that means Niklaus isn't completely lost, after all." Rebekah still remained silent. He continued. "And to the both of you," he said, turning to face Caroline this time. "If any harm shall come to Caroline – physically or emotionally – you will be answering to me." He looked up. "Am I making myself clear?"

Klaus considered standing his ground and showing who had the power, but stopped himself. Because he wanted Caroline safe, and Elijah was doing nothing more than promising Caroline's safety. It was beneficial to him.

"Crystal clear, brother," Klaus said plainly. He turned to face his sister again. "Rebekah, love, what d'you say?"

She rolled her eyes and said, "Fine, whatever. I _understand_, Elijah."

"Splendid," Elijah said calmly and let out a satisfied breath. "Now. You two are excused – I will escort Caroline to her room."

Klaus looked at him with surprise and refusal. "Oh, I think I can manage that burden, brother."

"I'm sure you can," Elijah said, still as calm as ever, "Though I see that Caroline is not only injured, but exhausted and looks as though she is in no mood for anymore suspense." He glanced down at Caroline and then back up to Klaus. "Leave it to me, brother."

Klaus gritted his teeth, but knew that whatever Elijah said or did, would only be helpful to him, so he left it alone. He sighed. "Goodnight, Caroline," he turned at faced his sister. "See you in the morning, little sister."

Elijah sighed slightly in relief as the sight of his two siblings disappeared immediately. His gentle grip remained with his arm wrapped around Caroline's waist and his hand curled around her elbow for support. He slowly walked her to her room – which was massive, by the way; really high ceiling with the same beautiful patterning as the main room, except this room had a king sized bed with white sheets and red lining along with a mountain of pillows. "Woah..."

"Mm," Elijah agreed, "It is rather... magnificent, isn't it?"

Caroline slowly removed herself from his kind embrace and walked into the middle of the room just so she could gawk at it's beauty. Then she noticed the view and went to the open balcony that looked down onto the loud, lively streets of New Orleans. She grinned down at all the vibrant colours and wondered how she didn't notice it before.

"So I take it you can understand why we have come back here. As a family."

"Huh?" Caroline turned around and saw Elijah standing patiently by her bed, which he had organised for her by lowering the sheets and removing most of the decorative pillows.

"We once lived here – in New Orleans."

"When?" She asked as she walked back inside.

Elijah gestured to the bed. "Please," he said and something about his mass amount of respect and kindness towards her made Caroline obey without hesitation. She removed her shoes, and when Elijah turned around, she removed her skirt. When Elijah heard the ruffling of the sheets he turned back around to see Caroline in bed getting comfortable.

He started to walk around the room. "As I was saying – we've lived here, before in the 1800's. And it was in the 1820's that both Rebekah and I saw something we thought was long passed." He sighed. "His humanity."

Caroline sat up, listening to every word.

"He came across a little boy being abused and he chose to not only save him, but name him and raise him..."

"You mean like a son?"

Elijah looked at the frowning girl. "Not 'like' a son. He was Klaus's son... For all intents and purposes."

Caroline looked down, trying to comprehend everything he was saying. "I didn't know... He didn't seem..."

"Like the type?" Elijah walked over to one of the be posts, placing his hand on the wood. "Yes, well, neither did Rebekah, nor myself. And after some... complications, Rebekah lost hope along the way, as did I, I am ashamed to admit."

Caroline didn't say anything.

"And yet here we are... And I once again see a chance for him to be..."

"Saved," she said, then looked directly into his eyes. He nodded his head very slowly as he looked into her eyes. "Yes..." Then he looked away. "Anyhow. I do not know how you will play out, but if history is any indication: I suggest you be careful."

Caroline shook her head. "No. He won't hurt me... He's in love with me."

"Which is _exactly_ why he might hurt you."

"Trust me," Caroline said darkly. "I know what he can do."

Elijah sighed. "I do not know you well enough to make a call on whether I can trust you just yet, Caroline. Though I do hope that changes." He didn't smile. He generally never smiled. But something about his eyes made Caroline feel... safe. Calm and at peace. He turned and walked away. "Goodnight," he said, before closing the door.

When he was gone Caroline just sat there in bed, looking around the room in absolute bewilderment, "What the _hell_ just happened?"

Klaus... Rebekah... Elijah... They happened.

It was a lot – especially in one night. And yet, she was glad her night had not only ended, but had ended with Elijah. Because of all the Mikaelson's. She felt, without a doubt, that she could trust him.


	26. Unplanned Planning

Chapter 26:

Unplanned Planning

Matt veered his truck off to the side of the road and got out. Katherine smirked while Jeremy just sighed sadly – the two of them both expected this.

"I'm impressed," she said, "I didn't think any quarterback could last that long..."

Jeremy sighed again. "Shut up, Katherine," he said before reluctantly getting out of the car. He walked around to the front of the truck where Matt was leaning against it. He looked weaker than before. Tired. Defeated.

His ass sat on the front of the truck with his hands shoved into his pockets, looking down at his shoes. He looked up at Jeremy. "I think I'm gonna kill her, Jer."

Jeremy sighed. "You and me both..." The two were silent before Jeremy spoke again. "Look, how much longer till we get there?"

"Like..." He looked up at the moon as he thought about it. "I dunno. Four hours? Maybe." He stood up straight. "All I know is that I'm not stopping until we get there."

Jeremy bobbed his head slowly and casually in agreement.

Matt sighed. "All I'm concentrating on is the fact that I only have to put up with that – that_ person_ for four more hours, and then we never have to see her again."

Jeremy narrowed his gaze; his puppy dog eyes looking far from innocent. Matt could see that.

He frowned and asked, "What?"

Jeremy took a step closer to Matt and lowered his voice. "Actually, we _might_ have to see her for a little bit longer than that..."

"Huh?"

Jeremy's eyes glanced through the car windshield at Katherine. "Alight," Jeremy began, taking Matt by the arm and bringing him a few feet further away from the truck. "I kinda have, uh, a back-up plan."

"A back up plan?"

"...Maybe, just a plan."

"A plan?"

Jeremy huffed, momentarily glaring at him. "Okay, just assume that everything I'm saying _is_ what I'm saying, instead of repeating it."

Matt merely shrugged in response. He sighed tiredly. "So what's your plan?"

Jeremy glanced over in Katherine's direction again, making sure she wasn't in hearing distance. Matt frowned worriedly at him. "Dude, what is going on?"

"I'm gonna make a trade with Klaus."

Matt's eyes widened. "_What?" _He hissed after glancing over his shoulder in Katherine's direction.

Jeremy placed his flat palmed hands in front of him. "It's guaranteed, Matt! Now that Katherine's human again, she's easy to hold captive meaning she's easy to make a trade with."

Matt grimaced, taking a step back. "She's not a packet of cigarettes, Jer."

Jeremy looked up at the moon and laughed at his kindness. "No, you're right... She's just a psychotic killer, no big," he said sarcastically, still with a dark smile.

Matt stopped himself short, remembering everyone she'd killed – including Jeremy. "Look," he said sounding passive, "I know all the horrible things she did. I mourned your death like a month ago. And I hate her – really, I do. But that was before."

"Before what?" Jeremy asked aggressively.

"Before she was human again."

Jeremy went silent, enduring his anger.

"Now that she's not a vampire anymore, maybe this could be her second chance at life," he said with such naive positivity he almost felt embarrassed. Jeremy raised a brow, waiting for better convincing. Matt looked at his dark brown eyes with his own baby blues. "I mean, the reason she's coming with us is to see Elijah, who she claims to love – that's gotta mean something."

Jeremy looked away, staring blankly ahead in concentration on what he was saying. "You're right," he said.

Matt looked at him with surprise – not about being right, but about Jeremy believing it.

Jeremy looked back at him and said with the dismissing wave of his hand, "Not about this being her second chance..."

Matt frowned, feeling dumber than ever in comparison to the non-graduate. "Then about what?"

"Elijah," he said with widening eyes of what seemed very much like dark ambition.

Matt lowered his chin and raised his brow. "...What about him...?"

Jeremy sighed. "My original plan was to make a trade for Caroline with _Klaus_. I thought he might want to have the girl he's been hunting for, like... ever. But now—"

"But now you're thinking of making a trade with Elijah, instead..."

Jeremy grinned and nodded along. "Maybe Elijah's love is stronger than Klaus's hate..."


	27. Merciless Compassion

Chapter 27:

Merciless Compassion

Katherine watched as both boys got out of the car and started talking. At first, she sat up, then she narrowed her evil little eyes and payed very close attention.

They were talking about her – that much was clear.

But what were they saying?

Katherine sat further forward and rested her arms against their seats. She rolled her eyes with irritation in knowing how much easier it would be if she had her super vamp hearing. Then again, if she was still a vampire she wouldn't be in this situation... The situation in which she can't get to Elijah without protection – and what better protection than two idiot boys with muscle and training who can also be easily manipulated. She smiled wryly at the thought of her intentions.

Bitch.

She then reverted her concentration back to the boys talking in front of the truck. But Katherine wasn't officially on alert until Jeremy glanced over his shoulder. Clear paranoia. _That_ was when Katherine looked directly at Jeremy's mouth – his lips. She payed extremely close attention and, well, translated.

"Uhm..." she began unsure, squinting to get a better look. "Blah, blah, blah... 'Back-up plan'... Blah, blah, blah..." Then she raised a brow. He moved further away from the truck, but not far enough away. It was less clear, but she could still make out the basics.

"Ah. He's going to make a trade," she said sounding not only surprised, but also rather impressed. "Hm... Okay, Blah, blah, blah... Excuse me, 'psychotic killer'?" Her lips parted and she scoffed, somewhat insulted.

The truth hurts.

Then she smiled and laughed darkly. "Aw... How sweet; the quarterback thinks I'm _human _good." She snorted. "Such a naive little _boy_." She rolled her eyes, before looking back over at them.

Oh, no. Katherine bit her lip almost nervously when she saw Jeremy smile darkly; evilly. Like her. That was never a good sign. But then he breath caught.

"..._Elijah..._"

Huh. Maybe they weren't as dumb as she thought.


	28. Beneficial Charity

Chapter 28:

Beneficial Charity

When Caroline woke up in the morning, she stayed in bed for another two hours because she knew that getting up would mean seeing Klaus. It wasn't because she hated him, but because she hated drama – that involved her. When it was others, she payed attention like a hawk. And yet here the brave girl was; hiding away from the guy that had a crush on her because it might be awkward. Or it might lead to another argument.

Actually, she was hoping for the argument. It was better. There were no longing looks or intense silences. Plus, being a talkative person and all... Awkward silence just didn't go well with her...

"Okay," she sat up, "On the count of three..." She squeezed her tired blue eyes shut. "One..." She took a deep breath. "...Two..." She blinked one eye open. "...One... And a half..." She rolled her eyes and scoffed with annoyance at herself. Then she slumped her head back against the fluffy pillow. "Alright," she told herself. "I will myself to get up, get out of this room and face Klaus!" She told herself with determination. "Ugh..." she groaned, then just laid there. She turned her head to look out the old fashioned glass doors with chipped gold framing. She could only see the blue sky and rising sun – no buildings, no mountains. Just birds.

She smiled at the peace, and then stopped when she remembered her objective. "Okay, you freaking coward, get up. Get up. Get up." She groaned at herself again. "Come on!" She whined, slapping her arms against the white sheets. "It's only one friggin' guy..." She frowned. "...One original vampire hybrid who has a bad history of killing people who piss him off with just a few words..." Then she shook her head. "What the _hell_, Caroline?" She bitched to herself, then rolled her eyes. "Great, now I'm to myself in third person."

And then she heard someone walking past her door.

Her head popped up like a dog would at the mention of food. "Klaus," she said and lurched out of bed, tiptoeing quickly towards the door, yanking on the see-through dressing gown as she did. Immediately, with the mere thought of hearing Klaus's voice in mind, she opened the door and looked over the railing. She saw the top of Klaus's head as he pulled on a black jean jacket over his thin white cotton shirt. She leaned her arms against the gold wooden bannister and watched him. She frowned with curiosity as she watched Klaus pick up one of the strings hanging around his neck and hold the attached silver medallion to his lips. Even with her epic vamp hearing, she could only make out murmurs before he dropped it back down against his shirt. Caroline remained silent as she continued to watch him.

Klaus sighed heavily with sadness. He walked towards the kitchen area to where she couldn't see him and a few seconds later he walked back to the center of the room. He placed a folded note on the coffee table and she could make out her name _Caroline_ written on the front. Then she saw him pick up a large black bag and head for the door.

Caroline gripped the bannister, her long nails digging into the wood and she leaned further over it. "You're leaving?"

Klaus whipped his head around and craned his neck to look up. "Caroline?"

Caroline looked down at him narrowly. "Duh." She started to walk down towards the spiral iron staircase at an even pace. "Where are you going?!"

"I'm going—"

Caroline slapped her hand against the iron railing. "You _kidnapped_ me! You went through, like, fourteen hours of hell having to sit with the bitchiest bitch of all _just_ to bring me here! You went through all of that... and now you're leaving," she nagged.

Klaus clicked his tongue and looked down with annoyance before looking back up at her. "Well, if you'd let me explain—"

"Am I _that_ much of a burden?" She asked with a roll of her eyes. "I thought the _original hybrid_ could survive anything," she sneered with air quotes and reached the wooden floor, still with a long distance between them.

Klaus sighed and resisted the strong urge to roll his eyes. "Do you _ever_ stop talking?!"

Caroline glared at him. "No."

Klaus couldn't help but give a small laugh.

After a moment of silence, Caroline bobbed her head in the direction of the letter he left her. "What does the note say?" She asked.

"It says—" He stopped himself when she zoomed to pick up the letter, and he smiled, almost with pride. "You really are an impatient one, aren't you, love?"

Caroline shot him another glare before slowly turning her head back towards the letter. She read it aloud: "_Dear Caroline, I am going out of town for a bit – Rebekah will protect you from danger and Elijah will protect you from Rebekah. Fondly, Klaus." _Caroline looked up, then looked back down. "_—By the way, I would have said 'with love', but you prohibited me from doing so, so..."_ Caroline glared back up at him to see him smirking with amusement. She looked back down. "—_Then again,_ _I never have been one for rules." _She resisted her own amused smirk and kept reading,_"With love, Klaus." _She folded up the letter and looked back at him. Klaus looked up at her with smile and dimples, and still with an amused momentary brow raise.

She dropped the letter on the coffee table next to her and walked over to him, no longer looking amused. "So that was your plan?"

He kept one brow raised, the other lowered.

She shrugged. "Just leave me a letter saying practically nothing and then just totally _ditch _me?" She folded her arms defensively over her chest – probably a smart thing seeing her gown was still see through to the point where you can see her black bra and panties. Klaus noticed.

"What's the matter, love?" He asked, with the tilt of his head. "Afraid you'll miss me?"

She hesitated. "Yes..." Then she thrusted a pointed finger. "But_ only_ because the alternative company is Rebekah," she said with a rude scowl at the end.

He raised his chin, gesturing towards her with a concerned brow. "How's your neck, by the way?"

"What's the matter, love?" She imitated without the accent, but with the same tilt of her head. "You worried about me?"

_Oh god, he's rubbing off on me_, She thought somewhat disappointedly.

Then before she could blink, Klaus was right in front of her, looking down at her neck showing a faint amount of concern. Caroline's breath caught and she looked up at him as his fingers gently stroked her neck where a slight purple bruise showed in the shape of Rebekah's hand. His lips pressed tightly together and he swallowed his anger. To Caroline's surprise, Klaus reached behind his neck and pulled over that necklace she saw earlier over his head. "Here," He reached for her hand and curled her dainty finger around the silver medallion with the blue stone in it's center. "Just incase..."

Caroline saw a flash of concern on his face as he let his guard down.

He let his hand drop and again his defences were back up. He exhaled deeply through his nose and turned around. "You'll be fine," he said and walked swiftly back towards the door, picking up his bag. Caroline raised her fingers to rub against her neck. "Incase of what?"

Klaus didn't bother turning around. He just ignored her. "I'll be back in a day or two – three at the most,"

"Incase of what?" She repeated.

"If I'm not back by then, seek Elijah for help." He opened the door, "And if I were you, I'd put on some less revealing clothes."

Caroline placed her hands self-consciously over her chest again.

Before he closed the door, he looked at her and said, "And you're not a burden, Caroline."

She smiled weakly, feeling a sudden sense of sadness.

"I kill burdens," he said with absolutely no sign of humor before closing the door behind him.

Caroline let out the breath she wasn't aware she was still holding in. "Be careful," she whispered. She looked down at her hand and flattened it, revealing the beautiful silver medallion attached to a thin black string. She gently traced a finger over it and frowned. "Incase of what?"


	29. Gentle Harshness

Chapter 29:

Gentle Harshness

Caroline had gone back upstairs where she found her bags of new clothes, changed into a yellow sundress with a denim jacket and flats, and went back downstairs, only to realise she had absolutely nothing to do. There was no T.V and no magazines for her to read. And because the naturally nosy Caroline was ridden with curiosity over where Klaus was, what he was doing, and what the _hell_ the deal was with that necklace, she was desperate for a distraction.

Really desperate.

So when Rebekah had started striding down the staircase into the main room, Caroline was almost grateful. It would have been better if she was Elijah, but hey. Beggars can't be choosers.

Rebekah, still in her red silk dress pyjamas, turned and looked at Caroline with superiority. She placed her hand on her hip and arched a brow. "What?"

Caroline sighed and slumped onto the antique seeming red couch. "Klaus is gone."

She cocked a brow. "Beg your pardon?"

Caroline just looked at her, not even bothering to hide her disappointment over this – or her disappointment over the fact that she was disappointed. God, Caroline hated her mind right then. Rebekah just stared at her for a few seconds, contemplating what to do it that situation. When Caroline looked away and down at her lap. Rebekah sighed and rolled her eyes, but not because she was irritated with Caroline so much as herself. Because Rebekah was a hopeless romantic, as Klaus liked to always point out.

Rebekah walked towards the coffee table and stared at her. "Are you falling in love with my brother?"

Caroline averted her eyes while Rebekah's went wide. "Oh my god." She shook her and scoffed. "You're a fool... You know that, right?"

Caroline looked up at her with self afflicted shame. "_Believe me:_ I know." Caroline then looked down at her hands which laid in her lap. She opened them up and began to caress her (newly bought) silver ringed thumb over the shiny black claw.

Rebekah didn't notice. Instead, she sighed heavily yet again and slumped into the couch next to hers that looked onto the rest of the room seeing the idea of sitting next to Caroline was far too intimate. "Listen," she said, looking at her nails instead of at Caroline. "No one knows more about terrible love experiences than I do." She looked at Caroline for a second before turing back to her nails. "And even though I tell myself I will never fall in love again, I still do. Every time."

"Why?" Caroline croaked, still staring down at Klaus's necklace.

"Because..." Rebekah breathed then took a beat. "Because what's the point of living if not for love? Or with love?"

Caroline shook her head and looked up at Klaus. "Yeah, but, like... Klaus doesn't seem to think the same way."

Rebekah laughed,. "Depends who you ask." The two girls looked at each other. "If you ask me; Klaus is incapable of such an emotion – or receiving it," she said, looking Caroline up and down. "But if you ask the doting Elijah, you'll get a different answer."

Caroline snorted and shook her head. "You are so full of it, Rebekah."

"Excuse me?" She sneered.

"Duh! Of course you believe your brother can love! He loves you. That's the reason you're still here – by his side all the freaking time! Because you love him despite all the crap he's done to you."

Rebekah immediately jumped to her feet, fuming. "You have no idea what you're talking about, you stupid girl!"

Caroline widened her eyes, raised her hands in defeat with the necklace entwined between her fingers, and leaned back against the couch, crossing one leg over the other. "God, relax." She scoffed. "You _seriously _need to work on your anger issues."

"Little girl," she growled through her teeth, "You'll know when you see me angry."

She rolled her eyes. "I can't believe Klaus left _you _to protect me." When she saw Rebekah smirk evilly, Caroline added, "And before you get any psycho-sister ideas – Klaus also said Elijah would protect me from you," she said with a sickly sweet smile.

Rebekah laughed bitterly. "Just so you know, darling, my dear brothers won't be there to protect you forev—" She stopped herself when she saw Caroline's hand more clearly.

The necklace.

"_What are you doing with my brother's necklace, you bitch?!"_


	30. Psychopathic Humanity

Chapter 30:

Psychopathic Humanity

Katherine yawned and started rubbing two fingers against her temples. "I'm bored," she moaned for about the twelfth time that hour. Matt, who had refused to let Jeremy drive after almost crashing his truck into a lamp post, gripped the steering wheel tightly until his knuckles turned white.

And Jeremy wasn't doing too good, either. He had raised the volume on his ipod so high that he could feel a ringing in his ears – of course, that sound was still better than hearing Katherine's constant complaining.

Katherine looked between the two boys from where she sat in the back seat. "...Still bored," she sang.

Jeremy gritted his teeth. "Then put your head out the window like a dog... They find it entertaining," he mused, only being slightly sarcastic.

Katherine glared at him – though that was more of her natural expression by this point. "I thought you were listening to your sad emo music."

Jeremy glared over his shoulder. "You can hear it?"

Katherine rolled her eyes, folding her arms over her chest. "You don't need Vampire hearing to hear _that,_" she sneered with a pursing of her deep red lips.

Jeremy pressed his full lips together so they became a thin line of restraint. Before, Jeremy felt indifferent about trading Katherine's life for Caroline's – but he was starting to take pleasure out of it. "My music's not emo."

"Nor is it good," Katherine said with a bitchy smile before looking out the window.

Jeremy looked back ahead. "I would say 'bite me'," he sighed, then flashed her a mocking smile, "—But you can't, anymore." Pleased with himself, he stared back ahead.

The side of Katherine's mouth twitched before she pursed her lips, pretending to act indifferent. "Plus I've already bitten you once before, Little Gilbert," she stared into his eyes through the rear view mirror. "Trust me – you're not worth it." She smirked.

"Are you serious?" Jeremy sneered, turning his body around to stare directly at her.

She raised a brow.

"You killed me, Katherine!" His dark gaze became even darker. "You bit my neck and fed me to Silas!"

Katherine grinned. "Yes, I forgot about that," she laughed.

Jeremy yanked off his ear plugs and tossed his ipod onto her lap. "Here," he sneered. "I was listening to the song 'psycho killer'... So I guess you could relate to it."

Katherine gritted her teeth. "Oh, _I'm _the psycho?"

"Uh.. yeah."

"Really?" She sneered, leaning forward with a scowl on her face. "Because _I'm_ not the one trading one human life for another." She deliberately cocked her head, looking at Matt. "Like a packet a cigarettes," she quoted bitterly before slumping back against her chair and looking back out the window.

Matt and Jeremy exchanged an almost scared look making her scoff silently. "Did you really think you could keep it a secret?"

Jeremy shrugged, pretending to be unfazed. "Doesn't really matter, anyways... You're just a human now, Katherine," he said glancing back at her. "It's not like you don't deserve it, anyways..."

"Right... because I'm a killer? Because I've murdered innocent people...?" She continued to sneer, "Like – gee, I dunno – Stefan? Or Damon? Or, hey, even your beloved sister – Elena," she said, over pronouncing his sister's name.

Jeremy gritted his teeth. "Elena only ever killed to protect the ones she loves – I wouldn't expect you to understand."

She snorted. "Are you so stupid that you actually believe that?" She gripped the end of the seats tightly. "Sweet little Elena may have killed whoever she did out of love, but you're fooling yourselves if you think she didn't enjoy it."

"She didn't."

She shook her head and scoffed again. "She's a vampire, Little Gilbert. Trust me – she _loved_ ripping out people's jugulars and bleeding them dry... She loved every second of it, because she's a vampire." Katherine pressed her lips together and lowered her chin dramatically in conclusion.

"Hey!" Jeremy snapped. "Just because you look like my sister, doesn't mean you know _anything_ about her," he growled. "Elena cares more for people then you ever will."

"Really?" She mused, then raised her hand and rotated her wrist, "Then why isn't she here, now?"

Jeremy stopped. He didn't say anything because he didn't know the answer. _Why isn't she here?_ Jeremy thought, _I mean... It's Caroline..._

Matt used this silence as an opportunity to speak up. "Alright, stop it, you guys..." He looked over at him. "Jer – just ignore her. And you," he addressed, looking at Katherine through the hanging mirror. "Just..." He sighed, "...Just back off..."

Katherine smiled wryly in triumph. At least, that's how it looked to the two boys. But for once, Katherine didn't feel the usual sense of pride and pleasure she normally got. She felt something weird... different... something human.

It sucked.


	31. True Lies

Chapter 31:

True Lies

Caroline jumped to her feet. "Why are you freaking out?!" She hissed/screamed back at the enraged Rebekah – as though there were any other kind of Rebekah.

"_What _are you doing with _my brother's_ necklace?" She hissed again as she stood facing her with her fists clenched by her sides.

Caroline looked at her like she was insane – which she pretty much was. "'Your brother' gave it to me."

Rebekah snorted. "Somehow I doubt that."

Caroline mimicked her snort. "Right – I stole it from him out of my deep love for psychopaths and their crazy-bitch sisters!"

"Do you want a stake in your heart?"

"If it means being free from you, then sure," she shouted back sarcastically.

Rebekah walked closer to her in a threatening territorial way. "You know, if I were nothing more than a skinny, weak, pathetic little blonde, then I would think better than to tempt an original vampire with their father's temper," she sneered, practically spitting out the words.

Caroline wasn't afraid – especially not of her. And especially when she knew that if Rebekah so much as pressed one pasty little finger on her, then Klaus would kill her. Well... dagger her, more likely, but...

Rebekah scoffed and shook her head, "Honestly, I don't know what my brother sees in you..."

She shrugged. "He probably sees what Matt _didn't_ see in you," she retorted with a glib smile.

"Or you, for that matter," Rebekah added with an equally arrogant smile. "I mean... Didn't he dump you, too?"

Caroline grinned. "What d'you mean 'too'?"

Rebekah flinched.

"Are you telling me that 'Rebekah the Ice Bitch' wasn't enough to hold onto a sweetie like Matt?" She mocked with a pointed finger in the air as her grin grew bigger.

"Shut your mouth, Caroline, before I shut it for you!"

"That is like the worst threat ever..." She cocked her brow. "And I thought someone at your... age... would make you wise – not desperate."

Rebekah glared at her. She _hated_ being called desperate, mainly because it was true. "_Shut up_ before I squeeze your stupid blonde head and your bloody well dead!"

She laughed and pointed at her. "What a cute little rhyme."

Rebekah took another threatening step closer to her so that Caroline's face was no more than an inch away from her own. "Give me my brother's necklace."

"No."

"Give it to me!" She growled.

Caroline frowned then glanced down at the necklace then back at her. "What's so important about this freaking necklace!?"

"The necklace would look fat on you, anyways," Rebekah glowered, then looked her up and down. "Much like that dress does," she hissed with a smirk and a short laugh.

Caroline scoffed, but the comment got the best of her and she looked down at her dress. "Does it?!" She whipped her head back up, looking at Rebekah who merely bobbed her head.

And then the two returned to glaring at each other, while Caroline tried to stop thinking about whether she looked fat in the yellow sundress.

"Give me my brother's necklace back before I rip it away from you, myself."

Caroline folded her arms stubbornly over her chest. "No." She paused before throwing her hands up in exasperation. "_Your brother_ gave it to me! _Clearly_ it's meant for me," she said, "If the brother who gave it to me wanted to give it to you, then _hello,_ you would have it!" She said, slapping her hands down against her legs, then raised her chin.

"It wasn't Klaus's to give. Bitch."

The two fell into an intense silence of mutual glaring and hatred. It was only a question of who would reach for the other's throat first.

And then came Elijah.

He quickly pulled Rebekah back by the shoulder and stood between them. Then he looked at his little sister with a mixture of anger and disappointment. "Rebekah..." He growled. "Did I not make myself clear, last night?" He removed his hand from her shoulder and straightened his suit – he _always_ wears a suit. "Caroline is not to be harmed," he said. "Consider this a warning," he said, more calmly than before. Caroline looked at the back of his head with surprise, impressed by how amazingly calm he could become.

Elijah blinked his beautiful brown soulful eyes, almost as a technique to ease himself. He continued to stare at his sister with disapproval that actually affected Rebekah somewhat. She felt... sad. Embarrassed, even. "Rebekah," he said, "I am now giving my word to the both of you that I will protect Caroline."

Rebekah's mouth twitched into a grimace, knowing how serious her brother was about his promises. She looked at him and pursed her lips, pretending to be unfazed. "Fine. But did you ever think that maybe I threatened the bitch for a reason?" She sneered.

"My darling, please stop calling her that vulgar word – it's beneath you."

It was amazing. Elijah had the ability to insult Rebekah in the most hurtful ways without even a single crude word. She felt a pang in her heart that Rebekah tried to hide from her expression but it showed, and both Caroline and Elijah noticed, making Rebekah feel even more humiliated.

She raised her chin higher, her fake indifference becoming more and more transparent. "Look at her hand," she said, gesturing towards Caroline with her hand before slapping it against her leg.

Elijah raised his brow as did Rebekah in response. Elijah spun around on his heel slowly and looked at Caroline's hand.

All Caroline could hear was the clicking of his shoes against the hardwood floor and then the unusual tone in his voice when he said, "Oh."

Caroline stared down at the necklace with the black claw at it's end entwined between her fingers. She held up her hand and started fidgeting with the claw, stroking it with her thumb. Then Caroline rolled her eyes. "Okay, what is the deal with this necklace?"

Elijah placed his hands in the pockets of his brown pants and stared down at Caroline thoughtfully. "What have you been told about this necklace?" He asked in his strange unplaceable accent.

Caroline frowned, shifting from foot to foot uneasily. "Um... That it was Klaus's, and that he gave it to me and that everybody is making a big deal out of it... Aaaand that's it," she said with a small smile at the end. "Why? What's with this thing?"

Elijah sighed and stared down at the necklace. "Caroline, the necklace does belong to a brother of ours, but it does not belong to Klaus."

"Huh?"

Then Rebekah interrupted, "That's Kol's necklace."


	32. Trusting Speculations

**Author's Notes:**

Okay, I should clarify. When I write that the characters 'slap their legs' it isn't well described... It's like in exasperation when they let their hand fall and it whacks against their legs. They're not deliberately _slapping_ their legs.

If you still don't get it, then screw you – write your own bloody story.

Keep reading, though!

Chapter 32:

Trusting Speculations

Mystic Falls... That's where Klaus was once again. And it was unbelievable how badly he did not want to be there. Like... On a monumental scale! And he wasn't exactly looking forward to running into anyone he knew, or anyone who hated him... Or anyone who happened to not only love Caroline, but also noticed her absence. Lucky for him, Caroline's neurotic and somewhat bitchy personality made that list pretty short. And yet another reason why Klaus was both lucky and unlucky was the fact that he knew precisely where he needed to go.

The Salvatore Boarding house.

He politely knocked on the door, then placed his hands behind his back, looking all alpha-leader and intimidating. Quite a difficult task for slightly scrawny man with a British accent. But he pulled it off.

Damon answered the door in his regular and rather dull attire of a black v-neck tee and jeans. He immediately rolled his ice blue eyes in that melodramatic way he always did. "Ugh. I thought we were _done_ with you... Shouldn't you be another town's Bela Lugosi, by now?"

Klaus gave him an overly pleasant smile. "I would say it's a pleasure to see you again, Damon, but I know not to tell lies, so..."

Damon grinned and pointed at him. "Still cracking funnies, I see, Klausie."

Klaus's smile disappeared. "Don't call me that."

And then Damon did what he always did – stupidly, but still looking hot as he did. "Why don't you come inside and say that?" He threatened, taking a daring step closer to the original hybrid.

Klaus sighed tiredly, glanced up and then clicked his tongue. "...Very well," he sighed, and next thing Damon knew, he was pinned up against the wall in the Salvatore living room next to the fire place, being held by the throat, three feet in the air.

"I am a thousand years old, little boy," Klaus growled, "I am stronger, faster, smarter and I can crush you like an ant, you arrogant little prick," he continued with an evil grin. "You know," he added, "This would feel more triumphant if it weren't so easy," he mused.

"Stop!"

The two ex-villains turned their heads towards the entryway where the panicked Elena stood in denim short-shorts and a red tank top.

Klaus grinned at her. "Ah, Elena!" Then he frowned. "What are you doing here?" He cocked a brow. "Shouldn't you be hunting me down and attempting to rescue Caroline, by now?" He asked, his lips curling into a smirk.

Elena used her somewhat new Vampire speed to zoom up to Klaus and start tugging on his arm, which obviously didn't budge.

"Klaus—" Elena continued pathetically tugging at his arm. "—Please! Let him go!"

Klaus sighed dramatically and rolled his head, then looked at her with a falsely kind smile. "Ah... Still attempting to salvage your relationship, I see." Elena gritted her teeth, but Klaus relentlessly continued. "Quite honestly, I think you're wasting your time, sweet pea."

Elena stomped her feet, glaring daggers at him. "Klaus, stop it! Let Damon go! Now!"

He laughed at her attempt to take control. It was adorable, really.

"You'll thank me for it, later," he grinned, staring up at Damon whose hands were grasping at Klaus's firm grip, struggling.

Then Elena's tone elevated to a nagging high-pitched one. "NO! Klaus, I'm begging you! Don't!"

Then Klaus groaned at her spoiling of his fun and rolled his eyes. "Very well," he moaned, "Anything for you, my little doppleganger..."

Elena grimaced with disgust.

Klaus loosened his grip, letting Damon fall to his feet – well, knees, actually. But instantly stood up straight in order to glare at the smiling Klaus.

"What do you want, dick?" Damon sneered with a narrowed glare and slight squinting of his eyes.

Klaus pursed his lips, still smirking. He clasped his hands back together behind his back and clicked his tongue. "Just one simple thing. The location of –"

Elena glared at him. "No!"

He cocked his brow. "You should be thanking me, sweetheart."

"For what?" Damon asked with a forced charming smile.

Klaus turned to the black haired boy. "Remember the good ol' days when I was asking for _your_ location?"

"You mean when you wanted to drain me of my blood in order to make more hybrids? Like it was a month ago! Why?" She said sarcastically.

Klaus grinned. "Well, now I'm looking for a certain other doppleganger's location..." His lips curled into a wry smile. "Katerina Petrova."

Caroline glanced down at the necklace, then back up at Elijah. "What do you mean that it's Kol's?" She asked them both.

Rebekah rolled her eyes with a look that said 'typical'. "Oh, please, did you really think Klaus would spend actual money on you?"

"Rebekah..." Elijah warned. He stared into Caroline's worried blue eyes. "Caroline, do you know where Niklaus is at this moment?"

She shifted on her feet again, nervously. "No... He didn't...He didn't say." Then she shook her head in denial. "Where the hell would he even go?!"

Elijah stared down with contemplation, caressing his chin with his finger. Rebekah, standing behind her brother, shrugged her crossed arms and continued to look amused. "My guess? A brothel," she mused with a mocking smile.

"Little sister, I do request your silence at this time," Elijah asked over his shoulder, loosing his patience, before looking back at Caroline, who was now glaring at Rebekah over Elijah's shoulder.

"I believe (pause) you should perhaps give Niklaus a call, Caroline," he said calmly to her.

"No! Tell me what the _hell_ is going on with this stupid necklace!"

Rebekah smirked. "Oh, it is far from stupid – believe me."

Elijah bobbed his head in agreement. He turned and looked at his sister. She raised a brow and stared blankly ahead, feeling both calm and arrogant. "Well, at least now we know what Klaus has been up to," she said with a shrug, both feeling and looking completely indifferent.

Caroline raised a brow. "There's been suspicion—?" She stopped herself. "Never mind... I mean, duh, it's Klaus, so," she sighed with a shrug and a look that said 'typical'.

Rebekah nodded and gave short laugh in agreement. "Yeah... The cruel bastard's always up to something," she sighed. Caroline nodded along while Elijah stood in the middle, still staring blankly down at his leather shoes with contemplation.

"So you guys know what he's up to, then?" She asked sceptically.

Elijah glanced over at her, uneasily. "I have my speculations," he said with a vague bob of his head.

Caroline extended her neck and cocked her brow, urging him to explain. "Hell-o? What are they?"

Elijah raised his own brow in response. "I don't believe that is for me to say – or speculate."

"I have an idea!" Rebekah beamed, whipping her finger into the air. She bent down and picked up her iphone that sat on the table, then bounced back up.

It was hard not to notice her boobs jiggle.

"Why don't you give Nik a call?" She said with a mischievous grin she was unable to hide. Elijah gave her yet another disappointing look, only she chose to ignore this one, and continued to grin.


	33. Reluctant Certainty

**Author's irritated notes: **To that douche bag who's too cowardice to come forth with a name; my spelling is fine, unlike your grammar, and if you're too dumb to differentiate scenes for yourself with this thing called common sense, which you severely lack, then don't read my story. Dick.

Chapter 33:

Reluctant Certainty

Damon frowned quizzically. "What do you want with Katherine?" He smirked and raised a brow. "Her charms? Her wits? Or her ass?"

Klaus, with his hands clasped together behind his back in that way he always did – kind of his trademark – and shrugged with a humble smile. "Oh, I want nothing of the sort from Katerina – quite frankly, I haven't wanted any of that in over five hundred years."

Elena, still with her nerves rattled and still shifting from foot to foot with her hand newly grasped around Damon's. "Then what the _hell_ do you want, Klaus?"

His smile disappeared, "Lose the attitude."

She flinched with fear.

_Pathetic_, Klaus thought with disappointment, then his mouth twitched into a smile of pride in knowing that Caroline was so much better than Elena Gilbert.

And Caroline was his.

Almost. In a way...

Damon stood in front of Elena slightly and Klaus smirked at his attempt at being protective. "Like I said: what do you want with Katherine?"

"Her location," he said simply.

Elena stood in silence, thinking about where she stood in all of this.

"No," Damon said sternly with widening eyes. "No way in hell."

Klaus pursed his lips. "You know, I was actually only asking to be polite. So let me rephrase," he said then his smile instantly became a glare. It reminded Elena of the Joker.

"You are going to tell me Katerina's location whether you like it, or not. Or..." he turned to smile brightly at Elena. "Your little girlfriend might be your girlfriend no longer." Then he bobbed his head, staring blankly into the air. "Which is strange, because personally Ithought your breakup would be caused by Stefan, or Elena coming to her common senses,—" Klaus deliberately looked at Damon. "—Or syphilis. But, yes, your relationship will be short lived unless you give me Katerina's location."

Damon, now glaring at the arrogant prick better known as Klaus, shook his head. "No."

Elena looked over at her boyfriend. "Wait, why not?"

He looked back at her over his shoulder. "Anything Klaus wants, I usually want."

Elena raised a brow. "_You_ want Katherine?" She asked through gritted teeth.

"Nice one," Klaus said with an amused grin.

Damon rolled his eyes. "No, I don't want Katherine," he sneered like it was crazy for him ever to want the bitch he once pined over for almost two-hundred years. "I want Klaus not to have what he wants... Which is Katherine," he said with a wide smile afterwards, trying to charm Elena who remained unhappy, like she had a stick permanently shoved up her ass.

Klaus continued to watch the scene with an amused expression.

Elena clenched her fists, though this time out of anger. "Do you still care about her? After everything she did to me? To Jeremy?"

"Like we talked about it yesterday," he said sarcastically. "And the day before."

"Damon!"

"Not that this isn't entertaining," Klaus interrupted, raising a halting hand in front of him. "But all I want it Katerina's location and I will be gone." He smiled charmingly. "You have ten seconds."

"Or what?" Damon sneered in derision with a charismatic gesture.

Klaus glared at them with irritation at their slowness. "To put it simply: I'll kill you both. And now that you have nothing that I want, I'll have no reason to hesitate—"

Then his phone started to ring.

He sighed heavily but reluctantly answered it. Then grinned when he saw the caller ID. "Caroline!" He beamed, "How fantastic it is to hear your voice, love—"

"_Cut the crap, Klaus,_"Caroline snapped through the phone. It was like she never left. "_I talked to you 'family' – which, by the way, is _so_ much more screwed up than mine! And mine includes a dead, almost vampire, gay dad and a very proud gun owner mom who also happens to hunt vampires. And _sucks_ at it, by the way..."_

"Caroline, love, you're losing me," he said with a subconscious grin at her cuteness.

"_Yeah, well, they won't inform me of where you are or what you're doing... All I know is what the deal is with your necklace..."_

Klaus's smile disappeared in an instant.

"_Or should I say... Kol's necklace."_

Klaus frowned. "That's what you know?"

"_Yep. Everything."_

Klaus silently sighed in relief, then grinned. The poor girl didn't know anything. Well. Anything important.

"Right well—" Klaus began and glanced over at Elena, who was now staring back at him furiously, now that she knew who he was talking to. "I'm sort of in the middle of an interrogation, right now, so I need to get back to that."

"_Wait, what?!"_

"Nothing for you to worry about, love. Farewell," Klaus said with a forced smile before hanging up on her, after hearing her call him something rude and rather uncalled for.

Then Damon grinned arrogantly. "No reason to hesitate, you say?"

**Author's Notes: **I would like to apologise for my outburst, earlier. I have a tendency to overreact. And snap... No matter how well deserved it was...


	34. Present History

Chapter 34:

Present History

_**May 14th, 1921**_

_**Chicago**_

"_Ah," Kol sighed with pleasure as he lounged comfortably in the fluffy arm chair with his feet hung over the side and a drink of scotch in his hand. "I miss this..."_

_Klaus, sitting across from him on the matching couch, cocked a brow and smiled, bearing his adorable little dimples. "Then why don't you do this more often?" _

_Kol smirked cheekily. "Because most often, I'm left daggered in a box," he said with a raise of his glass, "Cheers for that, by the way."_

_Klaus stared at him darkly, then smiled. "Do you ever get tired of carrying that chip on your shoulder?" _

_Kol grinned back at him and shrugged. "What's life without a little banter between brothers?"_

_Klaus flashed a warm smiled at his little brother, before turning back down to his sketch of a lovely brunette with her hair pinned up and a fashionable feather in her hair. She was truly beautiful. _

_His brother groaned again. _

_Klaus looked up reluctantly at Kol whose eyes bored into his own. "That's quite a nice looking strumpet."_

"_I prefer the term... Baroness..."_

_Kol sighed dramatically. "Tell you what: when I meet a woman worthy of the title – I will. However, until that time comes, 'strumpet' works well for me..."_

"_You know," Klaus's legs swung off the chair's arm and he leaned forward. "One of these days, Little Brother, I will introduce you to a girl that will change your _entire_ way of thinking." Klaus picked up his sketch and tossed it onto the table in front of Kol. Kol mimicked Klaus's position and took a closer look at the lady, a lazy expression upon his face. "One day, Kol, you will meet a girl just as perfect as Josephine..." _

_Klaus smiled widely at his brother as he looked down at the detailed drawing of the girl, staring at it intently. "Perhaps one day, Nik..." He traced the side of her face with a finger and Klaus almost thought he saw a smile on his face. But it was gone instantly. _

"_I doubt it, though."_

Damon continued to grin arrogantly at Klaus with Elena clutching his arm while Klaus stared at them with a look of indifference. And then Damon started laughing at him. "Wow... You realise you can't kill us, right?"

"Excuse me?" Klaus asked, genuinely surprised as shown with the loud raise of his brow.

Damon continued to smirk arrogantly. "You're whipped!" He said with clear amusement.

Klaus felt an annoying lump in his throat begin to form. "Careful, Damon. If you remember, I do have quite a temper," he said with a forced smile. Remember: always show dominance.

Even though he's right.

Damon continued to grin, and then clapped his hands together, reminding Klaus of a dolphin doing tricks for treats. He gritted his teeth.

"Wait a minute," Elena said, still with a furrowed brow. "Are you sleeping with Caroline? Wait—" She held up a flat palm. "Is Caroline _sleeping_ with _you_?" She said with obvious, unhidden disgust.

Klaus's brow slowly raised and his head tilted as he looked intently at Elena. "Don't look so disapproving, sweetheart." He gestured his hand her way. "You of all people should understand the appeal of a man ridden with sins and evil deeds."

"Damon is _not_ evil."

Klaus smirked. "Actually, I was talking about your other Salvatore. The _Ripper_," he hissed through his wry smile.

_**1921, September 29th **_

_**Chicago**_

_Klaus sat at his regular booth, twirling his martini glass with a white gloved hand. He watched the olive at the end of the toothpick circulate the glass, just thinking. He glanced over at the jazz band performing on stage, then over towards the dance floor. Klaus smiled warmly and genuinely at the sight of his brother Kol, as he held the love of his life close to him. _

_Josephine._

_He watched with pride as his little brother twirled the petite little brunette outwards before pulling her back into his arms. Kol leaned close into her pale ear and whispered something that made her head fall back and erupt into a fit of endearing laughter. Klaus didn't pry – he merely laughed along with them from a distance as he stared happily at his own brother's genuine happiness. It was something he'd never truly seen for Kol. For the first time, Klaus could look at his brother and see light in his eyes. He could see love._

_Then Klaus saw Kol's lips part and whisper three words as he looked deeply into Josephine's eyes._

_'I love you.' _

_Both Klaus and Josephine grinned. But it was Josephine who kissed Kol before parting and staring lovingly into each other's eyes. Klaus smiled with pride as he thought, _I brought them together. I made this happen. _He drowned the rest of his martini and made a silent toast to himself, muttering the words "Congratulations, Brother."_

_And then Klaus's smile disappeared at the sound of a familiar voice... and the clicking of a loaded gun._

Elena shook her head. "No," she said in denial, "No... Caroline wouldn't do that!" She scoffed, nervously crossing her arms over her chest. "She—she hate's you..."

Klaus shrugged, contemplating whether to brag and tell them the truth, or to lie like Caroline would want him to. "No," he said. "Caroline and I are not together," he forced himself to say, despite every other instinct he had. "I have only kidnapped her. Nothing more," he said with a forced smile, much like his words.

Damon rolled his eyes slowly, his grin faltering. "Right, our bad. You're a real asset to this community," he said sarcastically with a quick smirk. Elena's eyes continued to dart around the room, clearly not handling anything that was going on well. Then she finally spoke up, interrupting the two bad boys snarky quips and retorts. "Whatever... Look, if I tell you where you can find Katherine, then you have to give us Caroline."

He sighed. "Caroline is free to go where ever and whenever she wants..." He smirked. "She has simply chosen to stay with me," he said, his smirk widening across his full lips, "Must be the evil charm..." When he said this he looked directly into Elena's worried brown eyes. "Now..." He continued. "I'm getting bored and impatient – and I am not the only person who doesn't handle that well – so let's cut this short."

Instantly, Klaus broke off a wooden leg from one of the lounge's chairs and had Damon neck back in his grasp. He placed the stake gently against his chest – which meant for an original vampire that it was already digging through his skin. Damon cringed in pain and Elena was back on whacking her hands against Klaus like an annoying Chihuahua.

"Please! Please, no! Stop – I'll do whatever you want."

"Good," Klaus said with a smile. "Where is Katherine?"

Elena stomped her foot against the floor. Then through gritted teeth, Elena shouted angrily, "I don't know!"

_**Chicago**_

_**1921, September 29th**_

_Klaus immediately jumped to his feet and rushed over to his brother at the sound of more than one gun getting ready to fire. _

"_Kol," he said, grabbing ahold of his arm, slightly yanking him away from Josephine._

_Kol sighed, rolled his eyes and turned to his big brother. "Yes, what is it, Nik?" _

"_Hi, Niklaus," Josephine greeted his kindly with her warm, gentle smile. Klaus would have smiled back at her if he thought they had time. "It's time for us to go. Now," Klaus said more forcefully that time._

_Kol looked from Josephine back to his brother. "Mikael." Kol stated darkly. Any look of love, happiness or cheekiness was gone from his deep brown eyes. They remained cold. Much like his brother's. _

"_It is time for us to leav—"_

_Klaus was cut off from the sound of a single gun shot. And then another and another._

_Screams erupted and everyone, including Klaus and Kol dropped to the floor. "It's time to go!" Klaus growled. _

_If it was Rebekah, he would have had to dagger her to get her out of there; if it was Elijah, he would have stayed to help those injured; if it was Finn, Klaus would have daggered him already regardless of the situation. But this was Kol. _

"_Let's go," Kol said instantly and Klaus couldn't help but smile about his brother's loyalty. "Josephine," he said, whipping his floppy, brown-haired head around to face his beautiful beloved. And there she was. Not crouching on the floor next to the Mikaelson's amongst the runs and screams of the people around them; she was still standing, clutching her black flapper covered chest with both hands. Her face was pale, green cat-like eyes open wide with tears. _

_Kol stopped dead._

_He remained frozen as he saw her fall, seeing the deep red blood seep between her fingers and soak the wooden floor beneath her._

_And then she was dead._


	35. Cooperative Hindrance

Chapter 35:

Cooperative Hindrance

"Ugh, finally!" Katherine groaned with pleasure as Matt parked the car along the side of the crowded streets. Yes, they had finally reached New Orleans.

It came to the point where Jeremy, Matt _and_ Katherine were glaring ahead with bags under their eyes and gritted teeth. They had come to the point during their drive to New Orleans where Katherine had done the extremely cliche 'are we there, yet?' thing.

All three of them were grateful to see that 'welcome' sign on their drive in.

Katherine grinned with pleasure at the sound of the truck's rumbling engine stop, along with the continuous vibration. She was too busy being on the verge of writhing with pleasure to notice the dark, mischievous look Matt and Jeremy exchanged. The two boys got out of the car swiftly and simultaneously.

Katherine didn't care. She just grinned at the satisfaction of un-clicking her seatbelt – which she now wore with paranoia of being newly human. Katherine opened the door, savouring every moment for the time her feet would finally touch the floor.

And she didn't realise what was happening fast enough before Jeremy grabbed her by the wrists and roped her to the interior door's handle. "What the hell, Gilbert?" She sneered with not a single trace of surprise. A few hundred years or two and you learn not to be surprised.

Jeremy concentrated on knotting the ropes around her feeble wrists. "Did you really think we could trust you?"

"You're a known flight risk, Katherine," Matt added from the newly open truck of the car. "And you've been known to betray us... like... a lot. And you also have a history of kinda killing us..."

"Yeah... Good times," Jeremy said sarcastically with a weak smile and a nod in agreement. Matt smiled sadly with a mirrored bob of his head.

Katherine widened her eyes in mockery. "Boy, you really hold a grudge..."

Both Matt and Jeremy stopped to glare at her.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "So what's the plan? Lock me up until you trade me in for your little barbie doll?"

Jeremy did the finishing touches on his knotting then looked up at her. He forced a smile. "Uh, yeah. Pretty much." Jeremy then grinned with genuine and rather impure pleasure. Jeremy then left her sitting there with the door open and met Matt at the trunk, who was fishing stuff out of a different duffle bag amongst other duffle bags.

Jeremy frowned. "Uh... Matt?"

He sighed quietly to himself with sadness.

"Dude," he said, still frowning but now with a smile. "What's with the luggage?" He asked. "Were you planning on leaving, or something...?" He cocked a curious brow. "Dude?"

Matt looked up at him with those sad, tortured baby blues that just made you want to hug him and give him cookies.

"I, uh... I sorta made plans with someone on graduation, but uh... It didn't really work out..." He then gave Jeremy a crooked smile to show he was okay – which he obviously wasn't.

"Who—?" Jeremy stopped his question due to the look on Matt's face; a mixture of sadness, discomfort and pleading. "Never mind," Jeremy said with a small smile. Matt pulled out a wooden stake and shoved it down the back of his pants.

Jeremy frowned.

"What good's that gonna do?" He asked, but before Matt could get to the 'uh'ing part of it all, Jeremy reached into the bag and pulled out what must have been a vervain grenade and shoved it into Matt's jean jacket pocket. Matt was about to protest, but Jeremy gave him a warning look that said 'just incase'. And he was right.

The two exchanged one more cautious seeming glance before walking away from the trunk, after pulling the tarp back over his stuff, and back over to Katherine.

"Alright," Jeremy sighed with premature irritation, "Me and Matt will be back for you later. And now that you know our plan to trade you like a 'carton of cigarettes', you're gonna stay here."

Katherine gave him a 'duh' kind of expression, then shifted her wrists as much as she could manage, bringing attention to it. "Like I have a choice..."

Jeremy smiled fakely, then went to close her door.

"Wait," Katherine said calmly with a vague sense of arrogance making both Matt and Jeremy tense up. She smirked up at them. "How exactly do you plan on finding your precious Caroline?"

The boys hesitated, suddenly realising their predicament.

"God, please tell me you weren't the geniuses behind taking down me? I mean... that's just embarrassing," she said with a look of exaggerated disgust.

Jeremy glared at her, while Matt shifted from foot to foot uneasily, knowing that he unfortunately had nothing to do with any plan. For a moment he felt miserably and irrevocably useless. And he sucked at hiding it. However, Jeremy remained unfazed. "We'll figure it out... From what I know – Klaus isn't into the whole silent scene. He's more... loud and proud."

"Much like a drag queen," Katherine joked with a tight smile, which got no response. Then her look became completely serious. "I've been running from Klaus for over five hundred years. _Nobody_ knows him better than me." Then she raised her chin with pride. "You need me."

Jeremy folded his muscly arms over his chest stubbornly. "Tell us something helpful, or shut up."

Katherine smiled wryly. "Mm... Getting tough, are we, little Gilbert?"

"I'm not so little, anymore," Jeremy said through gritted teeth. Perhaps the nick name was getting to him. Just a little bit.

Katherine grinned further. "You child," she sneered.

When Jeremy took a threatening step further towards the bitch who once killed him, Matt stood in his way, being the mediator. "C'mon, guys. Cut it out." He looked at Jeremy. "Just remember what's important," he said, "Caroline."

All Matt wanted was Caroline. He wanted to know that _at least_ one of his friends was safe. And a little part of him just wanted to be able to say he's the one who made it possible. He wanted to prove he wasn't completely useless.

"Katherine," Matt sighed tiredly, working on only about four hours' sleep. "If we bring you with us, will you promise to help out?"

"And keep your mouth shut?" Jeremy included. Matt bobbed his head in agreement with that included term.

Katherine took her time, contemplating the offer. "Hm..." Then she smirked. "Anything to get out of this stupid car."


	36. Organised Chaos Part 1

Chapter 36:

Organised Chaos Part 1

**Mystic Falls,**

**Niklaus Mikaelson **

It had been over twenty-four hours since Klaus had – for lack of a better word – interrogated Damon and Elena. They were useless. And this is from the people who had managed to almost kill him. Him!

But he was Niklaus Mikaelson.

So naturally he had a plan B. And what was plan B? Do NOT use the disloyal hybrids who have been rendered useless because of Tyler Lockwood. Use the group of compelled vampires you ordered to stay in Mystic Falls and spy on all the citizens. Klaus began wracking his brain to remember their locations. Hm. One resident in a house half a mile away from the Salvatore Boarding House. Two people in the university Elena Gilbert was attending – including two of her classes. One new person working their way through the Founders' Counsel. And... Oh. Four people working at the Mystic Grill as waiters, busboys, bar tenders, and not-so drunk customers.

Klaus smirked to himself at his own well planned genius as he started swaggering into the Mystic Grill, looking brilliant and rather British, as always.

He glanced up at the Grill's clock on the wall: 5.00.

Klaus went straight over to the bar where a vaguely muscular guy was pouring some random a soda. He didn't hesitate when he stood as close to him as possible to make eye contact with him. He cocked a brow and the mindless drone of a bartender looked into his stone cold eyes as his pupils dilated, being completely hypnotized. "I need you to tell me everything involving Katherine," he ordered with the faintness of a smile and impatience. "Have you seen her? Who with? And if so, where is she now?"

The guy stared at him blankly for no more than a millisecond before responding to every question he asked; all with the same answer. "I don't know. I don't know. I don't know."

Klaus gritted his teeth. "Very well," he sighed, still through those gritted teeth. "Do you have anything useful to say that will impend my decapitating of your head?"

"Uh..."

Klaus's gaze darkened. Because, to be honest, he didn't have a plan C. He always had a plan C, but now that Caroline was in the mix, he was a little... distracted. And now all his hopes of resurrecting Kol relied heavily on this good-for-nothing vampire. Lovely.

Then the bartender, whose name Klaus suspected started with a Q... or an S, clicked his fingers. "I did see Elena, though! It was weird... She was dressed exactly like Katherine... And she sorta talked the same..."

Klaus glared at him, slowly rolling his eyes to the back of his head with disappointment for the American Education System – which must suck if it brought up this genius.

"The reason 'Elena' sounded like Katherine," Klaus said slowly and clearly, trying to contain his annoyance, "And looked like Katherine, and acted like Katherine, my dear boy, was _because she was Katherine_," he snapped.

The bartender naturally flinched in fear of the short tempered original hybrid. God, did everybody have to be afraid of him?

"Now," Klaus said, sounding calmer than before, "Tell me everything you observed, you unobservant muttonhead, you." Klaus patted him twice on the shoulder before reaching behind the bar and picking up a bottle of scotch.

**New Orleans, **

**Elijah Mikaelson, Caroline Forbes and that other blonde-headed bitch**

Caroline stared open mouthed at the phone. She couldn't believe it. "He hung up on me."

"Still observant as always, I see," Rebekah mocked. Elijah placed a hand on his sister's shoulder as a way to get her to stop.

Caroline scoffed down at her phone before looking up at them with a constant shaking of her head. "No," she said, "You don't understand. _No one_ hangs up on me," she scoffed in denial. "_No one _hangs up on Caroline Forbes. Not even a stupid 'original hybrid'," Caroline mocked with an exaggerated voice at Klaus's known title. She started dialing his number again. "I'm calling that obnoxious idiot back."

Elijah stood in front of her again. "Caroline, dear, perhaps you should take a moment to think before making any rash decisions."

Caroline looked at him, taking a few moments to let the message sink in. "I'm calling him." She started dialling again, ignoring Elijah's words of wisdom.

"Oh, please do," Rebekah said with a grin of pleasure. Elijah only glanced at his shoes momentarily and remained silent. He decided not to intervene between the children.

Caroline held the ringing phone to her ear, tapping her finger against it impatiently.

**New Orleans,**

**Katherine Pierce – A.K.A Katerina Petrova, Matt Donovan and Jeremy Gilbert**

Matt and Jeremy lagged behind the slightly drunk-seeming girl as they roamed the darkening streets of the French Quarter. "Where are we going, Katherine?" Matt asked and Katherine smiled at the adorable sense of whining in his deep broken voice.

"You'd think by now, you'd stop underestimating me, boys..."

"Yeah," Jeremy said with a sarcastic tone. "God forbid we overestimate you back into that tomb like last time," he jeered.

Katherine glared at him over her shoulder. "Watch it, Gilbert," she warned with a point of her petite finger, then she turned back ahead and continued to walk at a slow pace with an unintentional sway.

Jeremy sighed alongside Matt and the two continued to slump after her, both with miserable expressions.

After about a minute of excruciatingly slow walking and silence, Matt spoke up again. "Do you even know where we're going, Katherine?"

"The French Quarter," she said with a grin and a short laugh. "A lot of memories happened in this place... And even more happened a few blocks from here. And you know what's right around the corner?"

"What?" Jeremy asked, "A place with _even_ more memories?" He continued to glare at the back of her head and his hand subconsciously gripped the vervain grenade he had tucked in his pocket.

Katherine twirled her swaying body around on her black heeled boots and stared directly at the boy. "Nope," she said, "Just the oldest, most expensive hotel with absolutely no memories..." She stopped. "At least... None of their memories."

"Whose?" Matt asked with a frown. Dumb Question.

"Wow, there really is nothing behind those beautiful blue eyes and sexy arms, is there?"

Matt shrugged and continued to stare blankly ahead. "There's a heart," he suggested with that completely sincere tone.

Katherine stopped dead. "Okay," she said in a surprisingly careless tone, "No more calling me 'heartless' or 'psychopathic' or anything along those lines..." She raised her brow warningly. "Got it?" Her daring look switched between Blue Eyes and the little Gilbert boy. When the two boys stared back show clear hesitation, Katherine stomped her foot to the ground and placed her bony hands on her hips waiting for an answer. "Got it?"

**New Orleans, **

**Elijah Mikaelson, Caroline Forbes and that other blonde-headed bitch**

Caroline let out a loud exaggerated moan with another stomp of her ballet flatted foot against the floor. "Ugh, he's not answering his stupid phone!"

Rebekah cocked a brow. "You mean he looked at the caller I.D, saw your name and _didn't_ answer the phone?" She smiled wryly. "Huh. Funny."

Caroline smiled back bitchily, folding her arms over her chest. "Actually he saw Elijah's caller I.D." She raised a mocking brow. "God knows what he would have done if he saw _your _name..."

"Hm." Rebekah's forced bitchy smile remained.

As did Caroline's. "Hm."

Elijah stared ahead blankly. "Hm," he mimicked, but with less sass and with more contemplation.

**New Orleans,**

**Katherine Pierce – A.K.A Katerina Petrova, Matt Donovan and Jeremy Gilbert**

Jeremy sighed. "Alright, where the hell are we, now?"

"Come on!" Katherine said, now standing in between the two boys, "Turn that frown upside down," she said with a smirk, then turned to look at him with a serious face. "I'm not good at the whole Miss Positivity act, so that's the best you're gonna get," she said with a final sigh, pressing her full lips together.

Matt didn't say anything; just stared at his surroundings. As the sun began to set, the festive colourful lights began turning on. He smiled – it looked sad, but it wasn't really. And then it became a grin. As they continued to walk down the path, the faint music grew louder. The sound of a real jazz band filled his ears. It was happiness. That's how he described it to himself.

Jeremy noticed and reached his arm above Katherine's head and punched him gently on his arm. "Dude," he said with a quizzical frown. "What's up with you?"

"Huh?" Matt pulled his eyes away from the crowd of people dancing in the middle of the colourful streets and looked over at him. "It's just..." He sighed quietly. "I've never been anywhere outside Mystic Falls, before..." He looked back at the street lights and grinned again.

"Aw," Katherine said said sarcastically with a fake flash of a smile, "How sweet..." Then she steered them around the corner. "Hate to breakup this bromance, but we're here."

"And where is here?"

"The Mikaelson's hotel where absolutely nothing has happened..." Then she smiled wryly. "Yet."


	37. Organised Chaos Part 2

**Author's Notes:** As you may have noticed, I haven't been posting as regularly, and might become even more irregular, seeing exams are coming up. It'll be unlikely I'll be posting much at all for a week, or two. My apologies.

Chapter 37:

Organised Chaos Part 2

**Mystic Falls,**

**Niklaus Mikaelson **

"You know... I think she was with some guys," the Bartender said with enthusiasm.

Klaus sighed, staring down at his shoes, holding onto every bit of calm he had left, which was dwindling. Klaus clicked his tongue and looked up. "And who were they?"

"Uh..." The bartender, whose name was still lost on Klaus, stared up at the ceiling with deep thought. "...I think they were, like, friends of hers..."

Klaus merely blinked a lot, then sighed once more. "And what did these friends of hers look like?"

"Uh..."

Klaus smacked his hand against the wooden bar table and slumped into a seat. "Listen..." He said, leaning in closer. His gaze darkened. "Along with simple gifts like compulsion and immense beauty (charming grin), I have also been granted with the gift of unbelievable strength." His smile disappeared, looking like a true serial killer. "And if you do not stop acting like the idiot that you are, I will be compelled to rip your head off and feed it to whatever dogs happen to be roaming the streets." Klaus was so compelling that his bottom lip even did that lowering thing that made you want to either kiss him or yank that stupid lip off. It depended who you were, unless it was Caroline, where she wanted to do both.

"A'ight," he said with another click of his finger. "They were both real muscly... And one of 'em had a blue truck."

Then Klaus grinned, remembering the night Rebekah practically begged on her knees for Matt's forgiveness and gave him the keys to a shiny new blue truck. "Ah, little sister," he said with a grin. "You love-sick fool."

**New Orleans, **

**Elijah Mikaelson, Caroline Forbes and that other blonde-headed bitch**

Rebekah rolled her cool blue eyes at the sight before her eyes. Caroline glaring down at a phone and Elijah staring ahead blankly with thought. And her – still in a vaguely slutty silk red nightgown she had just recently bought for a special occasion. One that was cancelled quite recently. For a moment Rebekah felt sick. She ended up wearing that sexy silk number out of protest that she didn't need a guy in her life: she would be fine on her own. Unfortunately, it's affect was wearing off.

"Screw him. I gotta ask," Caroline said as she looked into Elijah's trusting eyes. "Do you know anything about what he's been up to?"

Elijah slowly nodded. "I believe Niklaus intends to resurrect our dear brother, Kol..."

Rebekah's attention focused back on the situation at hand. "And something tells me he's not back in Mystic Falls looking to catch up with his buddies seeing he has none, so..."

"Rebekah, I've had just about enough of your cynicism and immaturity," Elijah said, turning from Caroline to his sister.

Rebekah cocked a challenging brow. "Really? Well when are you going to get off your bloody high horse and get over yourself?" She asked rhetorically.

"Guys!"

"No – stay out of this, Caroline," Rebekah said with a dismissing waver of her hand. Caroline cocked her brow in shock. "Did you just... _dismiss_ me?"

Rebekah sneered, "Get used to it. After all, you are dating Klaus, now."

Caroline snapped her mouth shut with no reply.

Elijah let his hand fall against his leg showing a little bit of anger, which is more anger that Caroline had ever seen before.

"Must you continue antagonizing this poor girl?"

"Why can't you ever have my back?!"

Elijah sighed, pinching the arch of his nose and squeezing his eyes closed. "How is it that a person who has lived a thousand years is still a girl against an eighteen-year-old woman?"

Rebekah gritted her teeth. "Stop making me out to be a brat, I am _not_ a brat!" She jabbed a finger in his direction. "You know, deep down you and Nik are _exactly _the same!"

**New Orleans,**

**Katherine Pierce – A.K.A Katerina Petrova, Matt Donovan and Jeremy Gilbert**

Katherine stood in front of Matt and Jeremy with her hands on her hips smirking up at the glass double doors to the formal and expensive hotel, the Milton Hotel.

She gave a short laugh. "What would you two do without me?" She didn't even bother looking back before taking one step towards the doors...

Of course, she was abruptly stopped when her head smashed into the brick wall by the doors.

Matt's eyes widened as he saw Katherine's limp body fall to the ground, which then darted between her and Jeremy who stood firm with his fisted hands by his sides.

After the shock passed, Matt dropped to the floor and cradled Katherine in his big arms, tilting head to see if there was any blood – just a little. "Dude, what the hell?!" He yelled up at Jeremy who continued to stare down sternly at Katherine's body. Then Jeremy swiftly leaned down to help lift Katherine up by her arms. Surprisingly, no one noticed. "How else do you think we're gonna make the trade?"

"Well..." Matt stared back at the unconscious Katherine as he helped pull her up. "...A little warning could'a been nice," he grunted, pulling her arm over his shoulder.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't have without tipping her off," he said, gripping onto Katherine sturdily until Matt shoved him away. He lifted Katherine up into his arms, not trusting Katherine with Jeremy.

Jeremy raised a brow, but Matt ignored it. He ignored Matt's typical chivalrous attitude. "Look – there's a parking lot right there," he said pointing across the road, half a mile away. "Take Katherine up a few floors to the most abandoned one and wait for my call," he said before opening up the glass doors and before Matt could protest or even reply.

**Mystic Falls,**

**Niklaus Mikaelson **

Klaus laid back in his barstool with his elbow against the table, drinking from the bottle of scotch, until he was approached by a girl, a curious look upon her face – probably about the bottle of scotch all to himself.

"Uh... You okay here, hun?" She asked, a slight Southern tinge to the short haired blonde.

Klaus smiled at her, then smiled even wider when he noticed her name tag: Manager.

"I will be when you tell me what I need to know."

She smiled, frowned then shrugged her shoulders as she waited for his question. "What can I do for ya?"

"Where is that quarterback who works here?" He asked, still relaxed.

Her eyes darted towards his own. "Oh, you mean Matt Donovan?" She frowned. "Yeah, he actually hasn't shown up to work for a day, or two, now." She picked up a rag and started wiping down benches.

Klaus sat up and leaned forward, the smile disappearing from his face.

"Which is weird... He's kind of a pedantic guy about his schedule, y'know?"

Klaus clenched his jaw, his eyes dark with contemplation. "Damn."

**New Orleans, **

**Elijah Mikaelson, Caroline Forbes and that other blonde-headed bitch**

Elijah shook his head slowly. "Rebekah, I am not going to engage with your childish behaviour."

"Right, because you're _so_ much better than me." Rebekah placed her hands on her hips. "You know, me and Nik may be psycho killers, but at least we're brave enough to admit it! You are just like us. You're just too much of a coward to admit it..." She breathed angrily.

"I am not like you Rebekah," Elijah sighed, "However, I am no better."

Caroline scoffed. "Uh... Hello? Have you met her? You are _so_ much better than her," she said, completely out of place. "I mean seriously, what bad have you done—?"

Then the door was kicked open.

**Mystic Falls,**

**Niklaus Mikaelson **

Klaus pretty much dismissed the manager away and glared ahead, his fixed gaze deep with contemplation. He rested his chin against his fisted hands and ground his teeth as a habit.

Klaus's phone began to ring from within his jean pocket, which he fished out and answered, holding it to his ear. "Elijah," he greeted, " As it turns out, I may be gone a little longer than intended – the two adolescent boys I discovered I need to track down have apparently hit the open road."

"_Niklaus, I believe I have some helpful knowledge on the subject."_

Klaus cocked a brow expectantly. "Well go on; have at it."

"_You are in fact looking for Jeremy Gilbert, yes?"_

Klaus bobbed his head. "Yes. That boy has taken my doppleganger," he said with a raising of his chin. Then he frowned. "Do you happen to know where he is, dear brother?"

"_Yes – Jeremy is here. With us."_


	38. Unhelpful Saving

Chapter 38:

Unhelpful Saving

Caroline, Elijah and Rebekah turned around and looked over towards the door which Jeremy had broken open with a kick of his foot. Elijah noticed the phone he held in his fisted hand, treating it like it was a grenade or some kind of other weapon.

Rebekah immediately folded her arms over her slightly bare chest – still being in a nightgown and all – with the slight blushing of her cheeks.

Caroline's eyes went wide with shock as she stared at Jeremy who glared ahead at Elijah, who only looked mildly surprised with the slightest raise of his brow. "Jeremy Gilbert," he said calmly, "Glad to see you alive... I was under the presumption that you were dead."

Caroline's lips pressed tightly together as she remembered back to Elena's call about Jeremy's new and random resurrection. It was right before she kissed Klaus on that football field. To be perfectly honest, it slipped her mind... Then Caroline mentally slapped herself for being such a bitch in that department. She made eye contact with Elijah and said, "It's... new," before turning back to Jeremy, not knowing how to react.

Jeremy glanced at Caroline, then forced himself to keep staring at Elijah. "I'm here to make a trade."

Elijah's cocked brow raised even higher. "A trade?"

Jeremy nodded his head, then raised his phone, shaking it slightly between his fingers. "I have Matt on the other line – with Katherine," he said without a single bit of pride within her voice.

"Matt?"

"Katherine?"

Caroline turned around and frowned at the two Mikaelson's whose heads popped up like meerkats by the mentioning of Matt and Katherine's names. Huh.

Jeremy's brow raised for a flash of a second, curious about Rebekah and Matt. He held the phone to his ear and started speaking into it. "Matt; you still there?"

"_Where would I have gone?_" Jeremy could almost hear him frown through the phone.

"Great," he replied with a small and oddly dark smile as he stared ahead at the suddenly fidgety Rebekah. "Now about that trade..."

"Yes, I heard..." Elijah sighed almost out of boredom, straightening out his suit's sleeves. "Katherine's life for Caroline's... Existence." Elijah's soothing brown eyes bore into Jeremy's cold ones.

"Yeah," he said in agreement.

Caroline's head whipped around to glare at Elijah, then back at Jeremy. "I'm not a freaking carton of cigarettes you can just barter off like a..." She frowned, "Carton of cigarettes..." She rolled her eyes and thought, _Nicely said, Caroline_, with unbelievable sarcasm.

"_I told you,_" Matt's voice came from through the phone. Jeremy resisted the urge to glare down at it.

"You truly have changed, Jeremy," Elijah said with pauses. "I'm disappointed."

"This is coming from the _dick_ who helps his brother hold girls hostage."

Rebekah glared angrily at the boy. "Mind how you talk to my brother."

The corner of Elijah's mouth twitched into a small smile at his sister's protectiveness. "Yes, well," Elijah said, bringing them back to the subject of the inhumane trade. "Unfortunately, this trade will have to come to a close. Immediately."

Jeremy paused, then bobbed his head. "Okay, let's try another approach: Either you give us Caroline, or we kill Katherine."

"_What?" _Matt hissed through the phone again.

Rebekah crossed her arms and cocked a brow. "Hm. Your partner doesn't seem to be very okay with the plan..."

Jeremy stood firm trying to remain cool, cold and dangerous – which he was none of at this point.

Elijah shook his head slowly with disappointment. "Perhaps death has taken a darker toll on you than I thought..." He said.

Jeremy just shrugged. "Do we have a deal, or not?"

"Um, _hello_?" Caroline interjected. "I do actually exist, you jerks!" She growled, stomping her foot against the floor in protest.

To everyone's surprise, Rebekah agreed. "I'm with the lady – she's a narcissistic vampire. _Not _a bargaining chip."

"Yes! Thank you!" She said, looking at her momentarily before frowning. "Sort of." She moved passed it.

Elijah continued to stare at Jeremy with a mixture of disappointment and concern, but mostly sadness. "It is not my place to say what happens with Miss Forbes's life. And though my brother feels insistent on making her stay, I do believe that Caroline has the liberty to choose where she goes."

Jeremy raised his brow in mild astonishment. Then forced a smile. "Great – Caroline, let's go," he said before extending out on muscly arm towards her. When she didn't move, Jeremy frowned. "Caroline?"

"Uhm," she muttered, gripping her elbow tightly with her other hand as she stared down at her feet. For the first time, Caroline fell silent with nothing to blab about. She just pressed her lips together tightly with nothing to say.

"Car, you comin'?" Jeremy asked in that casual caring way that reminded himself there still was a teenaged boy deep down.

"_What's goin' on?_" Matt asked from the phone.

"That's a good question," Elijah said slowly with a frown of curiosity as he looked at Caroline standing uncomfortably. She could feel herself start to go pale, like she was about to be sick and couldn't think of anything to say except 'oh god', so she just kept quiet.

"Looks like the girl wants to stay, boys," Rebekah said to Jeremy and the phone. Caroline's eyes darted up to look at Rebekah, then smiled warmly. Rebekah noticed the gratitude in her expression and smiled back before looking back coldly at Jeremy. "So unless you want to be thrown out the window, I suggest you head for the door," she said with a stubborn pursing of her lips.

Jeremy continued to stare at Caroline with an extreme amount of surprise. _Well... What the hell do I do, now?_ Jeremy thought as he gripped the phone still in his hand.


	39. Friendly Enemies

**Author's Notes:** To ApekshaStar – thanks for the review and I adore how long it is. MUCH MORE worthy of my time to read than all those other reviews that say "update soon" which is redundant to say. I mean seriously, if I could update soon do people _really_ think telling me to update soon would make a difference? -But hey, thanks for those reviews, too, guys...

However, dude, I do not _try_ to be adorable or to be the-girl-that-everyone-likes... I already am.

Chapter 39:

Friendly Enemies

"What do you mean she's there?" Klaus asked through gritted teeth into his phone which was now the victim of his crushing fingers.

"I mean your beloved Katherine—"

"You mean Katerina," Klaus corrected, knowing how much Elijah loved his dear Katerina Petrova.

"The woman I know to have loved was named Katerina is no longer there," Elijah said without pause. Klaus cocked a curious brow. "Katherine Pierce is here, being held captive by Jeremy Gilbert and his football friend, Matt."

Klaus gritted his teeth, his grip on the phone tightening and he forced himself to breathe. "What is going on, brother?" He asked darkly, striding towards the door with anger and determination to get home as soon as possible. He noticed a clear pause on the other line from Elijah. "Niklaus, I am not your messaging service. If you wish to continue with your plans then I advise of you to get here as soon as you can before Katherine dies at the hands of Mr Gilbert."

"Wait, is Caroline safe—?" Elijah hung up, leaving Klaus walking at a fast pace to his rental car with his phone still stapled to his ear. He let his hand fall and he glared down angrily at the phone within his grasp. Klaus's anger increased when he noticed the phone crushed, broken and ultimately useless at the mercy of his vampire grip. "Marvellous..." He whispered darkly before letting the destroyed phone drop to the floor. Klaus stood on it as he walked and got into his blue rental. It was nondescript, which was suitable for his visit. For once, Klaus wanted to be quiet and low key as a way not to surprise Katherine into running away like a helpless deer...

God, he really hated her.

Caroline stood still and watched the open door which Jeremy once stood in front of. Now he was gone, leaving Caroline with two very strong and very confused original vampires.

Elijah looked at the phone within his hand before shrugging carelessly to himself and tucking the phone into his interior jacket pocket. Elijah glanced over at Rebekah momentarily, but he continued to stare when she gave him a look. A 'make yourself scarce" look. Elijah stared at his sister hesitantly, but chose to trust her.

"I have some... business I need to attend to..." He began walking towards the wide open door. He stopped and looked down at the broken door handle due to Jeremy's kicking it down. He pointed at it and looked at the two girls. "I should take care of this."

Rebekah noticeably poised her lips.

"...Which I will take care of while I am gone," Elijah added, taking her hint and leaving.

Caroline continued to stare down at her feet with what seemed like shame. Rebekah walked over to her grabbed her arm stiffly and led her to one of the couches. "Sit down," she said and Caroline just gave her a slight glare.

Rebekah continued to look at her all consoling like. "Look... I don't like you."

Caroline cocked her head to look at her with coldness and confusion. She raised her brow, then lowered it, glaring. "Duh."

"But," Rebekah continued, "I can't help feeling sorry for you," she said with no sign of emotion on her perfect skinned face.

Caroline continued to glare at her.

"I love my brother," Rebekah said with a heavy sigh like she was fighting the words. Caroline turned her body to face Rebekah who sat right next to her on the couch. "As much as it kills me to admit it... I love that bloody bastard," Rebekah said and Caroline gave a short laugh.

"Yeah, that kinda sums him up," she said with a genuine smile that Rebekah returned. But the minute she realised she had, Rebekah forced the smile away and continued to talk. "So I really do know what it's like to hate loving someone you know doesn't deserve your love to begin with," Rebekah said and Caroline looked at her in silence as she listened.

"Just so you know, love," she said to her, "It's a lost battle... No matter how hard you try, you can't help who you love."

Caroline shrugged, her lips twitching into a momentary smile. "Maybe you just didn't fight hard enough."

Rebekah rolled her eyes at what she thought was stupidity. "I've been alive a thousand years. And through that time, Nik has daggered me six times, disowned me once, killed the man I loved_ more _than once and also managed to kill my own mother." Listening to this list made Caroline's heart physically ache and her expressive blue eyes did a bad job at hiding it. This time Rebekah didn't raise her chin and pretend to be unfazed. She looked at Caroline with both hatred and sadness in her eyes. "And yet after all of this, I still can't help but love that evil blighter – and _not _just because he's my brother." She said, leaving out the not-needed-to-be-said 'but because I love him' part. It was obvious. Rebekah smiled knowingly at her. "And you feel the same stupid way."

"Uh, no?" Caroline snapped with a look of doubt on her pretty little face. "I don't _love_ him... I just... Care a lot about him." She shrugged. "And... think about him when he's not here and... on occasion... kiss him. From time to time," she mumbled. After a beat Caroline scoffed bitchily and rolled her eyes. "But I don't, like, _love_ him..."

Rebekah just stared at her blankly without blinking and her bottom lip curled. After her own beat she said, "My god, you really are _that_ stupid."

Caroline glared at Rebekah while she sighed carelessly and stood up. "You're a bitch," Caroline said loudly and precisely in a matter-of-fact way.

"True," Rebekah said with an almost proud smile. "You say it like it's a bad thing," Rebekah said, her half smile curling wryly into a bigger one. The two girls looked at each other, one glaring the other smiling. Then, to both of their surprise, they laughed.

Okay, granted, it was a small laugh – a short one. Sort of like that laugh you get when you read a funny joke on the computer and just give a small laugh because you feel like the joke deserved it. Just like the laugh Rebekah and Caroline shared.

"_Caroline_," Klaus breathed in fear – more precisely, worry. It wasn't an emotion he feared often. Klaus wasn't one to care for others, for when their lives were in danger. The list began and ended with Rebekah, mostly. Elijah could always take care of himself, he hated Finn, Henrick was dead, and Kol... He stopped caring for Kol's life a long time ago, back in the 20's.

That left Rebekah. Even after disowning her once, daggering her... more than once, killing her mother, and her multiple boyfriends, he still had nightmares about her death. And now the list was extended to her and Caroline. This new feeling of love, loyalty and devotion.

It sucked.

Klaus couldn't bring himself to think rationally, or to think at all. Only Caroline sprung to mind. With the exception of Rebekah, only Caroline's impending death scared him. And that feeling really sucked. Hm.

How poetic.


	40. Boyish Manliness

Chapter 40:

Boyish Manliness

Klaus kept walking over to his car, which was further away than he thought – it was almost five, so the parking lot was almost completely full. He was mentally kicking himself for breaking his phone. Sure, he was rich, but it was still an unnecessary hassle.

And when Klaus got to his blue Nissan Versa that was parked around the corner, he was met with an even bigger unnecessary hassle. A hassle named Damon. He leaned against his car smirking in his regular, and rather plain, attire of tight sexy black clothing with a glass of scotch Klaus assumed was from the bar.

Klaus sighed heavily, his quick pace slowing down for the predictable confrontation. "Damon," he said shortly, fishing out the keys from his jeans.

"Hey, Nik," he said with his charming smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

Klaus looked at him blankly. "Why Rebekah... You've changed," he said sarcastically.

Damon arched his brow, still smiling.

Klaus sighed again. "Why are you bothering me?" He asked with the roll of his eyes.

Damon shrugged. "I figured I'd get a word in before you went gallivanting off to Stockholm Syndrome ol' blondie."

Klaus's pursed lips twitched into a momentary smile. "If you keep talking about things you don't understand, it'll be your last words."

"Haven't we been through this already, Wolf Boy?" Damon said with an exaggerated eye roll. "You kill me and she kills you..." Then he bobbed his head. "Well, she'll kill you anyways, so yeah I guess ya could kill me," he said with a wide smile, which then disappeared as he said, "But, like... Don't." He smirked again then took a sip.

Klaus gritted his teeth, then fished out his keys finally. "...Well after that failed attempt at provoking me," he said, beginning to unlock his door. Damon crossed his ankles in order to lean against the car more comfortably as he drank from his glass. "You know she'll never love you."

Klaus slowly exhaled through his nose as he tried to keep his cool.

"Barbie may be blonde, but she isn't _completely_ brain dead..."

Klaus glared at him darkly. They say when you see something you desire, your pupils dilate – Klaus's desire to kill Damon made his eyes blackened almost completely. Then he smiled. "Oh, I see. You've now realised insulting me won't affect me, so now you're succumbing to insulting one of your only friends who is willing to look you in the eye... Well, go on; have at it," he said with a smile as he unlocked his door.

Damon continued to smirk. "I gotta say; your determination to beg for someone's affection is impressive." He shook his head, "You know, to be honest, I didn't think it'd be that hard for you..."

"Quiet, Damon," Klaus warned as he opened his door slowly.

"I mean she practically bent over just to get _my_ attention," he mocked, still with that arrogant smirk.

"Shh." Klaus ordered with a quick glance his way.

Damon shrugged. "I guess after dropping her skirt for me, she realised only to hold out for the best."

"And you're supposed to be the best?" Klaus laughed. "Oh, Damon," he said with a disappointing head shake. "You're nothing but Elena's sloppy seconds. And she merely slept with you because you were sired to her."

Then Damon's smirk widened slowly and ever so irksomely. "So why d'you think Caroline slept with me?"

Klaus gritted his teeth and slammed his door shut.

Then Damon shrugged again. "Though maybe 'slept' isn't the right term..." Damon continued before taking a sip of his drink. "I mean, even for a human, she could go all night."

Klaus didn't say anything, he merely continued to stare.

Damon tutted his tongue with a slow shake of his head. "I told you, if you were gonna be bad, then to be bad with purpose. Otherwise you're not even enough for the easy ones," Damon said, raising the glass to his luscious moist lips.

Angrily, Klaus whipped the glass from his fingers and smashed the scotch drink against his head. The shattered glass fell to the floor; a mixture of blood and scotch dripping down his sharp stubbled jawline. Damon recovered from the hit and charismatically wiped his hand against his face and flicked away the wetness.

"I was enjoying that!" Damon growled, clearly talking about the prior glass of what Klaus was sure was just cheap scotch. Quite frankly, he was more of a port man. Scotch seemed so... regular.

A real smile reached Klaus's perfect lips, slowly becoming an arrogant smirk, much like Damon's previous one. "Not as much I enjoyed hitting you with it," he retorted – not his best line, but he was still distracted.

"You know you really should be careful of who you insult, dear boy. Because in the end, that's all you are; a boy," Klaus whispered, saying every word slowly and clearly, inches away from Damon's saturated face.

Blood from his cut eyebrow started to drip into his eye, making him involuntarily blink. Though that blink seemed unimportant, it managed to show who was in charge; who was more powerful and who was more dangerous.

"See," Klaus continued, placing a friendly hand on Damon's slightly damp shoulder, "The age of a person does not a man make – but the wisdom, strength and bravery of a person. You see... I am a man, and Caroline a woman. Stefan is also a man. But you, dear boy, are exactly that: a _boy_." Klaus smiled one last time before patting his back and reopening his door.

"If wisdom, strength and bravery are the making of a true man, then let Caroline go," Damon said, but his tough exterior cracked and Klaus could hear the begging behind his tone. That's what Damon wanted; Caroline's safety. Huh. Perhaps he was Caroline's friend, after all.

Klaus looked from his hand gripped around the door to Damon. He said nothing, didn't even smile. Klaus merely got in his car and drove off. Not only to see to Caroline's safety, but to finally be a man and let her go.


End file.
